February Heart Awareness Month

African Americans face greater risk of stroke, report says

Ashley I. King

Issue date: 2/18/05 Section: >Health News">News>>Health News

February is the month in which you should take some things to heart -- in particular, your heart.

February is National Heart Awareness Month and Black History Month. However, African Americans may need to look to their futures and the potential risks of heart disease. A report states that heart disease has claimed millions of African-American lives in recent years.

According to Ebony magazine, heart disease is most common among blacks than any other ethnic group. The report states that the illness not only affects the heart, but the way an individual lives. Some Jackson State University students find this information to be alarming. "There are many diseases that African Americans don't know about, but it's definitely common among the various diseases," said Katreena Lewis, a senior education major from Biloxi.

According to Ebony , African Americans are at an increased risk for heart disease, and the illness can affect anyone at any time. Common risk factors include being overweight, smoking and lack of exercise. Studies show that African Americans are less likely than Caucasians to maintain a healthy diet, a routine workout, and be smoke free. "If you do smoke, quit," said Jami Cameron of the American Heart Association. "The greatest risk is smoking. Cigarettes increase the chances of diagnosis. Quitting smoking greatly reduces the risk of heart disease."
According to Ebony , the risk of having heart disease drops sharply one year after a individual quits smoking, and continues to decline.

According to recent studies by the American Heart Association , Mississippi has the highest percentage of deaths caused by heart disease among African Americans. The report states that two out of every three blacks will develop heart disease by the time they are 60. Those who have high blood pressure have an 80 percent higher stroke mortality rate, which is caused by heart disease.

The combination of risk factors, genetics predisposition and poor access to quality health care are also considered to be major reasons why black Americans are suffering from a disease and not learning about it. Some younger African Americans agree that there is an urgent need to educate blacks about the dangers of heart disease and to motivate them to work with their health-care providers to learn more about prevention. "Many black women, like myself, don't take heart disease seriously because being overweight runs in my family and there's nothing that I can do about it," said Aisha Wells, a senior public relations major from Clarksdale.

Experts believe exercise is the most effective deterrent for hear disease. "It would be wonderful if everyone could get 30 minutes of exercise a week," Cameron said.

According to the American Heart Association, the goal of recognizing the disease during Black History Month is to teach African Americans about the disease. However, Cameron believes the effort to educate should continue throughout the year. "Just because it's Heart Awareness Month doesn't mean we should pay attention to it, since it happens all year long," Cameron said.