Friday Focus

Good morning,
Grace and peace be unto you!

We are still focused  on heart disease.

One in four women dies of heart disease. For African American women, the risk of heart disease is especially great. Heart disease is more prevalent among black women than white women—as are some of the factors that increase the risk of developing it, including high blood pressure, overweight and obesity, and diabetes.

Ladies that means in your circle at least one of you will die from heart disease and that does not have to be. Our health has got to be more important than anything. You only get one body and when it's used up that's it. We need to start early training our children to eat well and to exercise.

We have become a very immobile society but that has to change. Before you say the gym is expensive. You're right but what can you do in your living room? Zumba is fun and the whole family can do it together. Turn on some music and just do some old school dancing. Walk around your neighborhood. Find a long church gym that you can walk in. It doesn't have to be fancy you just need to get your heart rate up.

Next, we have got to eat better. I know cooked vegetables taste better but we all need to incorporate some raw fruits and vegetables in each day. Then we need to eliminate so much sugar. Obesity and heart disease go hand in hand. When you elite the obesity the chances of heart disease go down.

I love you and want you to be around for generations to share your beauty. Call a friend or a relative and ask them to go walk with you.

Until Monday
#liveBlessed

Friday Focus

Good morning,
Grace and peace be unto you!

Splashing a little bit of water on her face didn’t calm Shermane Winters-Wofford’s first date jitters. And then what she perceived as nervousness escalated into sweating and tightness in her chest.

Although she didn’t experience the typical warning signs, Shermane was having a stroke.

A stroke? How could it be? After all, she thought of herself as perfectly healthy. But it turns out Shermane had been at risk all along. Like many other African-American women, she had a strong family history of high blood pressure and heart disease. Unfortunately, she didn’t discover this until it was almost too late.

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.

Only you can know where you stand. Go to the doctor and be check. What you don't know can kill you.

Until Monday
#liveBlessed

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