Heart Health in the Black Community and Why Heart Disease affects Black Americans

By Alysha Jones

African Americans are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic whites (New York-Presbyterian, 2023). The issue of heart disease among African American’s stems from health disparities. Marginalized Black Americans are more likely to experience patterns of discrimination and substandard care. When environmental and socioeconomic factors come into play, medical racism can be introduced and then the lack of healthcare coverage intertwines with the problem at hand simultaneously. There is nearly twice as many Black Americans living at or below the poverty level, which leaves them unemployed in a financial hardship where they can’t afford a healthy lifestyle. Environment being linked with this problem leaves a lack of healthy food availability in communities experiencing poverty. The lack of fresh and nutritious foods is a major insecurity and plays a big role in unhealthy dietary habits in African American households. That, merging with being uninsured or underinsured, helps to develop the risk of heart disease in Black Americans. Besides that, having to deal with discrimination from health care providers only adds to the problem.  

So, what can be done to prevent heart disease in the black community?

In order to minimize risk for heart disease, one should consider doing the following (Black Heart Association, 2022):

§  Understand the risk factors.

§  Move more (get physically active).

§  Eat healthy.

§  Control your blood pressure.

§  Manage your cholesterol.

§  Manage your blood sugar.

§  Work with a doctor.

§  Stress less.

§  Don’t smoke.

Being that February is heart health month, it is an excellent time for Black Americans to focus on their cardiovascular health.

It is equally important for healthcare providers to tackle health disparities in healthcare settings.

Here are a few ways healthcare providers can confront barriers with Black patients (Everlywell, 2023):

§  Encourage patients to ask questions to promote trust building.

§  Work with communities and healthcare professional organizations to eliminate cultural barriers to care.

§  Learn about socioeconomic conditions that may put some patients at higher risk than others for having a health problem.

§  Connect patients with community resources that can help people remember to take their medicine as prescribed, get prescription refills on time, and get to follow-up visits.

§  Collaborate with other physicians to create a comprehensive and coordinated approach to patient care.

Decreasing heart disease among African Americans starts with raising awareness and promoting healthy hearts through advocacy. Followed by removing systematic barriers to healthcare access in the Black community. It’s important to try and prevent heart health issues at an early age, because it can block future complications and lower the risk of having to deal with life-long health issues.  So, do your part and care for your heart!

To learn more about heart health in the Black community visit Black Heart Association.

References

Everlywell. (2023). Health heart: heart health in the Black community: why heart disease disproportionately affects Black Americans. Everlywell. https://www.everlywell.com/blog/heart-health/heart-health-black-community/

 Black Heart Association. (2022). Health & resources. Black Heart Association. https://blackheartassociation.org/health-resources/

Reed, J. (2023).  Health matters stories of science, care & wellness: What to know about heart disease risk for African Americans. New York-Presbyterian. https://healthmatters.nyp.org/what-to-know-about-heart-disease-risk-for-african-americans/#:~:text=Heart%20disease%20is%20the%20leading,disease%20than%20non%2DHispanic%20whites.