Friday Findings

We made it to Friday Horray, 

Since this is Black History Month and Heart Month, I wanted to share some information with you. 

Heart disease & stroke is the No. 1 killer in women, and stroke disproportionately affects African-Americans. Importantly, African-American women are less likely than Caucasian women to be aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death.

Diabetes, smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, obesity and a family history of heart disease are all greatly prevalent among African-Americans and are major risk factors for heart disease and stroke. What’s more, African-American women have almost two times the risk of stroke than Caucasians, and more likely to die at an earlier age when compared to women of other ethnicities.

Here are a few unsettling stats:

• Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African-American women annually.
• Of African-American women ages 20 and older, 49 percent have heart diseases.
• Only 1 in 5 African-American women believes she is personally at risk.
• Only 52 percent of African-American women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
• Only 36 percent of African-American women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk.

The truth about high blood pressure

More than 40 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have high blood pressure, which is more severe in blacks than whites, and develops earlier in life. This little known fact is something that, if known and treated in advance, could save your life. 

African American Men: Take Note, while heart disease doesn't discriminate, your gender, race, ethnicity, and where you live can increase your risk. African American men are at the highest risk for heart disease. About 2 in 5 African Americans have high blood pressure, but only half have it under control.3 A recent article in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine also showed that Americans aged 30 to 74 who live the Southeast—specifically, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Georgia—are at higher risk of developing heart disease over the next 10 years than people who live in other parts of the country.4 Many of these states have a large African American population.

www.goredforwomen.org