African American Health

Minorities at High Risk for Heart Disease

Education and prevention may be the answer to celebrating more birthdays. 

Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. Compared to whites, the death rate for heart disease among African Americans is 31 percent higher in men and 34 percent higher in women. Additionally, minorities who are younger than 65 years of age are experiencing premature cardiovascular deaths at an earlier age. 

This is likely because minorities, especially African Americans, have high rates of Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and obesity.  All of these are contributing factors for heart disease. 

As a result, minorities have an increased need for heart disease treatment and education, but unfortunately, they are not getting it. 

For patients and their families, this education begins with understanding the risk factors and symptoms of heart disease. In addition to education, taking steps to prevent heart disease can be life saving. Although there are excellent ways to treat heart disease, there is no doubt that the best strategy is to prevent it from happening in the first place. 

What You Can Do to Prevent Heart Disease 

• Identify a primary care physician. See your primary care physician once a year to have your heart checked. If you get checked regularly and a serious problem occurs, your doctor is likely to catch the problem early when it responds best to treatment.  

• Educate yourself and others about heart disease. It is important to understand what heart disease is, what your personal risks are, and how your lifestyle and family history may affect you and your loved ones.

•  Commit to be active. Exercise is essential to maintaining a healthy heart. Start an exercise program, and get moving. Any change whether big or small is a postive step towards a healthy heart. 

• Adopt a heart-healthy diet. Avoiding sugars and salts can reduce your blood pressure as much as medications.

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Last Reviewed: Jul 16, 2010

Quinn Capers IV, MD, FACC, FSCAI Associate Dean for Admissions Director of Peripheral Vascular Interventions Division of Cardiovascular Medicine Department of Internal Medicine College of Medicine The Ohio State University