A search of Waikato Hospital clinical records and cardiothoracic surgery database identified 143 patients with a diagnosis of type A aortic dissections from 1990 through 2013; 54 were Māori and 89 were non-Māori patients (82 New Zealand European). While the overall 30-day mortality rate of 28% and overall 30-day survival rate of 72% is consistent with published international data, there were significant ethnic and gender disparities between Māori and non-Māori populations. The 30-day mortality rate in New Zealand European males is approximately 20% lower than that in Māori males. Māori females have the highest mortality rates with almost half succumbing within 30 days of surgery. This is more than twice that of their Māori male counterparts, more than two-and-a-half times that of their New Zealand European males and approximately 29% more than non-Māori females. Disparities identified in early survival were found to be even larger in late survival data. Moreover, Māori were found to have a significantly higher prevalence of aortic dissections (2.5 per 10,000) in the Waikato population compared to non-Māori (1.4 per 10,000) and have a 5-year earlier mean age at presentation compared to non-Māori.
