4 August 2025
By Ryan Whirty
Contributing Writer
The Association of Black Cardiologists, a national organization focused on identifying and eliminating the disparities in cardiovascular health and care among vulnerable communities, is launching an all-out effort to identify and eliminate “cardiology deserts,” regions where a large portion of the population lacks adequate access to heart health care and treatment.
The effort will begin with a pilot program within four Deep South states – Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas – said ABC’s president, Dr. Anthony Fletcher. “We want to educate the community,” Fletcher said. “We want to be out there with members of the community.
“We hope this project will be very beneficial,” he added. “We want to get care where it’s badly needed.”
Fletcher said cardiology deserts feature one or more factors that can make it difficult or practically impossible to access heart care. He said such barriers to cardiology care include a sparse population, remote location, disadvantaged socioeconomic conditions, and lack of education about the importance of heart health and the best ways to access care.
He said such regions often coincide with high levels of common indicators of poor cardiological health – poverty, high unemployment, unavailability or unattainability of health insurance, and race.
Dr. Keith C. Ferdinand, professor of medicine at Tulane University and the Gerald S. Berenson Endowed Chair in Preventative Cardiology at the Tulane School of Medicine, said the absence of cardiologists in such areas can be daunting, with almost 22 million impacted by a dearth of care.
Ferdinand said that while many cardiology deserts occur in urban areas, it’s rural regions that are the hardest hit – 86 percent of such counties lack a single cardiologist.
“This cardiologist shortage is a result of compounding factors, such as geography that isolates communities, underfunded clinics, limited transportation, and scarce broadband,” Ferdinand said. “Demographics exacerbate the issue – areas with higher poverty, lower insurance coverage, and racial and ethnic diversity are markedly underserved.”
Ferdinand said Louisi-ana’s cardiology deserts are particularly acute; in those areas, he said, “mortality from heart disease is very concerning.” He noted that such parishes “show significantly higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, smoking and higher death rates. In Franklin and Madison parishes, adult cardiovascular deaths have reached over 500 per 100,000 people. This far exceeds national averages.”
Ferdinand said that shortages of care and treatment in deserts also disproportionately harm Black Americans, with about one in three Black individuals – roughly 18.6 million people – live in counties with limited or no access to cardiologists.
“And when care is available,” he added, “financial and digital obstacles remain. Adults with lower incomes are 11 percent less likely to see a cardiologist at all, and once care moves online, profound disparities persist in older adults. Black patients, Medicaid recipients and those with limited English are far less likely to use video visits.”
“Over 90 percent of Louisiana counties with significant Black populations are in desperate need of cardiovascular care, nearly half of them have no active cardiology practice,” Ferdinand said.
When it comes to rectifying the prevalence and impact of cardiology deserts in Louisiana, Ferdinand said, the strategy must be comprehensive and diverse.
“Some approaches to start addressing cardiology deserts include investment in underserved communities, realigning specialist resources with need, through targeted incentives and telehealth infrastructure,” he asserted.
Both he and Fletcher said in the meantime, the Association of Black Cardiologists’ cardiology deserts campaign will push forward with the pilot program, which will include rolling out LDL-C cholesterol screening, health-care provider training and community engagement in the four states in the pilot program.
Fletcher said attacking cardiology deserts and bringing treatment to chronically underserved areas is a multi-prong approach – encouraging and performing regular heart health screenings; extending education about cardiological well being and the importance of care; and establishing a network of providers throughout and between cardiology deserts and giving them ways to find patients and to keep honing their skills in treatment.
As part of its program, the ABC hopes to locate and enlist assistance from those people who are already established in local communities. Fletcher said the organization is working on receiving help from experienced, well-connected cardiology providers from city areas like New Orleans, Little Rock, Jackson and Atlanta who can advise and guide young providers or cardiologists willing to practice in deserts. The organization is also hoping to recruit local community leaders like mayors, city council members and clergy who are already trusted by their constituents to tell people about cardiology care and encourage them to seek screenings and treatment, if necessary.
“The more we can do that,” Fletcher said, “the more we can help people understand the issues of cardiology. We want to make sure everybody has that [heart education].”
This article originally published in the August 4, 2025 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.