Heart disease and stroke are major health risks for everyone. But African Americans are at especially high risk. Overall, minority and low-income populations have a disproportionate burden of death and disability from cardiovascular diseases. African Americans have the highest rate of high blood pressure of all groups and tend to develop it younger than others. Studies have shown that socioeconomic status, reflected in income and education, underlie a substantial portion, but not all, of the higher rate of heart disease in minority populations. How high? Consider this:
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Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of African Americans.
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Heart and blood vessel diseases (cardiovascular diseases) claim the lives of over 104,000 blacks every year.
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These diseases account for 33 percent of all deaths among blacks in the United States.
About Heart Disease
There are different types of heart disease, but the kind you need to worry about most is coronary heart disease. Your heart has arteries that bring blood to the heart muscle. These are your coronary arteries. Over time, fatty deposits called plaque can build up in the walls of these arteries, reducing the blood supply. In some people — but not everyone — this can cause chest pain called angina. Over time, a plaque can rupture, triggering a blood clot to form. This can block blood flow to the heart muscle, causing part of it to start to die. This is a heart attack. A heart attack is an emergency; and should be treated right away. The quicker you get treatment, the more of your heart muscle might be saved.
Heart Attack Warning Signs
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Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back.
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Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
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Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
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Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to have some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can start treatment when they arrive. If you can’t access EMS, have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you’re the one having symptoms, don’t drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option.
Your heart beats because electrical signals flow through it at timed intervals, causing it to squeeze and pump blood. Sometimes a heart attack can disrupt these electrical signals, causing the heart to flutter and go into cardiac arrest. (Cardiac arrest can also occur spontaneously.) A person in cardiac arrest will collapse and die in minutes unless they get cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to maintain respiration until they can get a shock from a device called a defibrillator to help a normal heart rhythm resume.
About Stroke
Most strokes happen because of problems like the ones that trigger heart attacks. Fatty deposits (plaque) build up in arteries carrying blood to the brain. If the plaque ruptures, it will trigger a blood clot to form. This will block the artery, and part of the brain won’t get the blood and nourishment it needs. That part of the brain will start to die. This is called an ischemic stroke, the most common type. Another type of stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel to the brain bursts. This also deprives a part of the brain of the blood it needs, causing part of the brain to die. Both kinds of stroke can kill you or leave you with severe physical and emotional problems. To help protect yourself and your loved ones from stroke, know the warning signs and what to do if they occur. They are:
Stroke Warning Signs
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Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
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Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
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Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
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Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination.
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Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.
If you have one or more stroke warning signs, don’t wait — call 9-1-1 immediately! Get to a hospital fast. The quicker you get treatment, the less severe your stroke may be. Calling 9-1-1 is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. Emergency medical services (EMS) staff can start treatment when they arrive. If you can’t access EMS, have someone drive you to the hospital right away. If you’re the one having symptoms, don’t drive yourself, unless you have absolutely no other option. A stroke can kill you or leave you paralyzed; unable to speak, read or write; with vision problems; and with other serious disabilities. A stroke can be devastating to not just the stroke victim, but to the lives of their family members, too. Some stroke victims recover some or all of their lost abilities, but many do not. That’s why it’s important to do everything you can to prevent stroke. That means controlling your risk factors.
Heart Attack and Stroke Risk Factors You Can Change
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Cigarette smoking
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High blood pressure
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High cholesterol
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Physical inactivity
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Obesity and overweight
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Diabetes
Other (Stroke) Risk Factors You Can Change
The risk factors we’ve just listed affect the risk for both heart attack and stroke. But there are some additional risk factors, that are specific to stroke. They include:
Heart disease and stroke are particular, specific threats to African Americans — men and women, young and old. The dangers are real, but you have the power within yourself to take control of your situation and avoid, reduce or eliminate whatever risks you may have. No one else can do as much for you as you can do for yourself. That’s real power! Name it, claim it, and use it.
Sources:
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), 2002.
NCCDPHP, 2001.
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), 1997.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), 1995.
American Heart Association (AHA), 2006.
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