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 wall 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, and a piece could lodge in an artery or a blood clot could form. This can block blood flow to the heart muscle, causing part of it to start to die. This is a heart attack, and it is an emergency — get to the hospital right awayI The quicker you get treatment, the more of your heart muscle might be saved. 

These are the warning signs of a heart attack: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. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort. Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.

The most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort for both men and women. 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.

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, a piece could break off or a blood clot could 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 an ischemic stroke, the most common type.

Another type of stroke, a hemorrhagic stroke, occurs when a blood vessel in the brain bursts. This also deprives a part of the brain of the blood it needs, causing part of it to die. Both kinds of stroke can kill you or leave you with severe disabilities.

To help protect yourself and your loved ones from stroke, know the warning signs and what to do if they occur.  They are:Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body. Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding. Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes. Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination. 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.

About Risk Factors
Traits or behaviors that increase your chances for heart disease and stroke are called risk factors. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

Unfortunately, many African Americans don’t know the risks for heart disease and stroke. And even those who do don’t always do all they can to protect themselves.

What can you do? Look in the mirror. You’re face-to-face with the one person who can do the most to protect you against heart disease and stroke.

Learn Your Risk Factors

There are two categories of risk factors:

Those you can’t change:

Increasing age Gender Heredity (including Race)

Those you can:

Cigarette smoking High blood pressure High cholesterol Physical inactivity Obesity and overweight Diabetes

Statistics show that African-Americans and Hispanics/Latinos have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease than Caucasians and are less aware of their cardiovascular risk factors.

Research studies reveal that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for African-American males and females age 20 and older.

The American Heart Association’s Search Your Heart program is a community-based educational program/tool to reach high-risk audiences. Search Your Heart delivers knowledge and action steps to encourage people to act upon this knowledge and reduce their risk for heart disease and stroke.

Since its inception in 1996, over 15,000 churches across the country have participated in the Search Your Heart program and it has reached over 1.5 million at-risk participants. By empowering these individuals with information, the program shows how to take necessary steps to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, including making healthy lifestyle changes and developing heart-healthy habits.

Key Statistics


Here are some important statistics about African Americans, heart disease and stroke, and the major risk factors. 

Heart disease and stroke

Heart disease and stroke are the No. 1 and No. 3 killers of blacks.Heart and blood vessel diseases (and all other cardiovascular diseases) claim the lives of over 100,000 blacks every year.These diseases account for 32 percent of all deaths among blacks in the United States.

Cigarette smoking

This is the single greatest preventable cause of premature death in the United States.24 percent of non-Hispanic black men smoke, and 17.2 percent of non-Hispanic black women do. That’s alarming because smokers' risk of developing coronary heart disease is 2–4 times that of nonsmokers. Constant exposure to someone else’s tobacco smoke — in your workplace, at home or elsewhere — increases your risk even if you don’t smoke.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure has no symptoms. That’s why it’s called the “silent killer.”More than 42.6 percent of adult non-Hispanic black males and 46.6 percent of females have high blood pressure.Compared to whites, blacks are more likely to have high blood pressure, develop it earlier in life, and have more severe cases.Blacks are 1.5 times more likely to die from heart disease and 1.8 times more likely to die from stroke than whites.

Kidney disease

Blacks represent 29 percent of treated end-stage renal (kidney ) disease patients.Blacks are more likely than whites to have blood pressure-related kidney problems.Blacks are six times more likely than whites to develop high blood pressure-related kidney failure.If you have diabetes, you also have a significantly higher risk for kidney problems.

Physical Inactivity

About 27 percent of non-Hispanic black men and about 34 percent of non-Hispanic black women aren’t physically active.

Overweight and Obesity

Studies show that 79.6 percent of non-Hispanic black women and 67 percent of non-Hispanic black men who are age 20 or older are overweight or obese. If you have too much fat — especially in your waist area — you’re at higher risk for heart disease and stroke. Extra weight also is a major cause of gallstones, and it can worsen degenerative joint disease.All that excess weight puts a severe strain on your heart.It raises your blood pressure and blood cholesterol levels, and it makes you more likely to develop diabetes. That’s a triple whammy that makes your overall risk even greater.

Diabetes

Diabetes is common among African Americans  It’s often referred to as “sugar,” and 10 percent of non-Hispanic black males and 13.2 percent of females who are age 20 or older have it.Sadly, about a third of African Americans with diabetes don’t know they have it.