Aim: To examine trends in ischaemic heart disease (IHD) events by ethnicity.
Methods: All IHD deaths and hospitalisations from 2006-2015 were identified using individual-linkage of national hospitalisation and mortality data. Age-standardised IHD rates and average annual age-adjusted percent changes were estimated by ethnic group. Ratios of non-fatal to fatal events were calculated by dividing age-standardised hospitalisation by death rates.
Results: IHD mortality rates declined by 3.1-5.4% per year for most groups, except Pacific women, who experienced a non-significant decline of 1.3% per year. IHD hospitalisation rates declined significantly by 3.6-8.8% per year in all groups. IHD mortality rates were highest in Māori and Pacific people, but hospitalisation rates highest in Indians. Indians also had the highest ratio of hospitalisations to deaths. For every person who died from IHD in 2014/15, 7-8 Indians, but only 3-4 Māori or Pacific people, were hospitalised with IHD.
Conclusion: Fatal and non-fatal IHD rates are declining in all groups, but Māori and Pacific people have disproportionately high rates of IHD mortality. The much lower ratio of IHD hospitalisations to deaths among Māori and Pacific people compared to others suggests there are still important barriers to preventive interventions and acute care for Māori and Pacific men and women.