New research suggests that living in an inner-city neighborhood may affect a person's risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at St. Michael's Hospital found that some residents of inner-city neighborhoods have adopted sedentary lifestyles and poor diets due to a lack of grocery stores, limited green space and transportation options, fewer recreation centers and high rates of violent crime. These factors can contribute to heart disease, heart failure, stroke and cardiac death.

Inner-city neighborhoods are characterized by an above-average concentration of residents who are unemployed, sick or disabled, living in poor-quality housing, working full-time on low pay, or single parents.

"We have to think about how we can improve the neighborhood and urban environment in a way that reduces risk,"  Dr. Stephen Hwang, director for the Centre for Research on Inner City Health of St. Michael's Hospital, said in a statement.

Limited access to preventative and in-hospital cardiovascular care is also something inner-city residents have to deal with. This may be due to financial disincentives for caring with patients with low socioeconomic status, capacity issues in inner-city neighborhoods, and the fact that they may be less inclined to seek health services.

"You can try to develop programs that target marginalized individuals, but the challenge is that you also have to also think about the environment and consider the social world that the person lives in that also has an effect on them," Dr. Hwang said.

Dr. Hwang said individuals with mental illnesses in disadvantaged neighborhoods may also be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those living in higher income neighborhoods because they are more likely to lead unhealthy lifestyles, and less likely to get appropriate physical health care, since the care they receive is so often focused solely on their mental health issues.

Dr. Hwang suggests physicians and health care workers in inner-city communities encourage positive health behaviors in their patients, and advocate for public policy that supports healthy physical and social environments in their communities.

The findings are detailed in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.