This study, supported by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Nova Scotia, concludes that patients with psychiatric illness have an increased rate of death and decreased access to some procedures related to circulatory disease (such as heart disease, stroke). Dr. Stephen Kisely and colleagues used information from 3 large databases to measure the associations in Nova Scotia between mental illness, mortality, hospital admissions and specialized procedures for circulatory disease.
In a related commentary, Dr. David Goldbloom points out that database studies only document receipt of procedures, which may not be the same as access to them. He discusses the many existing barriers to ensuring equity in health care for people with psychiatric illnesses
p. 779 Inequitable access for mentally ill patients to some medically necessary procedures
S. Kisely, et al
http://www.cmaj.ca/pressrelease/pg779.pdf
p. 787 Mental illness and cardiovascular mortality: searching for the links
D.S. Goldbloom, P. Kurdyak
http://www.cmaj.ca/pressrelease/pg787.pdf
Canadian Medical Association Journal