February Black History Month & Heart Awareness Month

 By Kenny Anderson

“More than half of people in the U.S. (51%) don’t know that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country. The rate of death from heart disease is significantly higher than the homicide rate in the United States, at 167.2 deaths per 100,000 population compared to 5.7 homicides per 100,000. Indeed, way-way more Blacks die from heart disease than homicides, yeah heart attacks alone kills more of us than gun shots.” - KenRaySun

The American Heart Association’s (AHA) 2025 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistical Update reports that Black communities in the United States face disproportionately higher risk of heart disease along with high rates of strokes and hypertension that results in disproportionately high heart disease death rates, underscoring the urgent need for lifesaving intervention.

The report notes that Black Americans suffer some of the worst heart problems 'Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)' health outcomes due to the increasing prevalence of health risk factors (racism, stress, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, poor diets, little exercise) that lead to CVD.

The AHA report cites that Black Americans suffer some of the worst CVD health outcomes:

*CVD Prevalence: Among people aged 20 and older in the U.S., nearly 60% of Black adults have some type of CVD, including coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke and hypertension; that’s compared to about 49% of all U.S. adults who have some type of CVD.

*Heart Failure Burden: Black adults account for over 50% of heart failure hospitalizations among U.S. adults under 50.

*Stroke Disparities: Among all adults in the U.S., the prevalence of stroke is highest among Black women (5.4%) and Black men (4.8%), compared to all women at 2.9% and all men at 3.6%.

*High Blood Pressure Crisis: Black adults in the U.S have some of the highest prevalence of hypertension in the world, with 58.4% of Black women and 57.5% of Black men having high blood pressure. That compares to 50.4% of all U.S. adult men and 43% of all women.

For Black History Month the American Heart Association is encouraging and collaborating with Black-led organizations, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and community leaders to bridge the wide cardiovascular disease gap and improve heart health outcomes; to create and implement culturally relevant solutions to ensure that heart health education reaches those most affected.

The American Heart Association is challenging Black families, schools, and community organizations to take part in its Hands-Only CPR training initiative and join Nation of Lifesavers™. With nine out of every ten cardiac arrests that happen outside of a hospital resulting in death, learning CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival. Only 46% of people who suffer from cardiac arrest receive CPR from a bystander, while CPR is 41% less likely if the person is Black.

Think about this Black folks, in 1893 a Black doctor 'surgeon' Daniel Hale Williams performed the first open heart surgery in America. What would Williams think about the present alarming super-high Black heart disease rates? I think he would not be surprised at racism being a contributing risk-factor, however I believe he would be surprised at our own heart-health neglect.

Black folks, as the main organ of our circulatory system our hearts keeps us alive! It pumps blood throughout our body, bringing oxygen to our cells and tissues. We say we love ourselves and don’t the heart symbolize it, yeah we aint been loving it like we should, so let us love our hearts more by taking much better care of it!

So on this last day of Black History Month, let us take a serious moment of silence placing our hands over hearts to feel it beat, take some real deep releasing reflective breaths and make a life-saving commitment to improve heart health in ourselves and in our communities - make this a daily 'heartfulness' practice:

“When we’re engaged with our hearts, the mind slows down and our thoughts become more rational and focused. We now have scientific evidence that the heart sends us emotional and intuitive signals." - Doc Childre, The HeartMath Solution

Distinction Between Heart Attacks and Sudden Cardiac Arrest

by Kenny Anderson

Recently I had a discussion with a friend who highlighted a question to me of “why so many Blacks in their early 50’s and younger were dying from heart attacks particularly Black males.”

This question was posed to me because my friend knew that as a Community Health Representative I had started ‘Black Hearts Matter’ as an effort to both increase heart health literacy and to decrease the super-disproportionate rates of Black heart disease.

 
My initial response was that it was not surprising that a lot of Blacks in their early 50’s and younger were dying from heart attacks due to 60% of adult Blacks having heart disease based on recent data from the American Heart Association.

According to a study by the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions (2021) found that Black young adults average age of 31 years between 2007 and 2017 in the U.S. experienced increased cardio-vascular disease risk factors and worsened hospital outcomes.

In an issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (2019), researchers reported that in a study heart failure developed at an average age of 39 among the Black participants.

 
By the tenth year of the study, when participants were between 28 and 40 years old, almost 90% of participants who later developed heart failure had untreated or poorly controlled high blood pressure.

After leaving my discussion with this friend and going home, I felt it was important to further elaborate on this question in writing on Blacks in their early 50’s and younger dying from heart attacks. 

What most Blacks don’t understand is what they think is Blacks dying from heart attacks is too often Blacks dying from Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) due to cardiac arrest; there is a distinction between the two.

Cardiac Arrest the Sudden Killer!

Most heart attacks are caused by a blockage in blood flow to the heart rather than a problem with the heart itself. Cardiac arrest is caused by an issue in the heart's electrical system and may not be a detectable condition leading up to the event.

 
Cardiac arrest is typically more severe than a heart attack, as it can result in death within minutes if proper medical care is not provided. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when there is an electrical problem within the heart, rather than an obstruction in its supply lines.

 
With this electrical malfunction, the heart stops pumping oxygen-rich blood through the body, which puts organs at risk of damage including the heart itself. This results in loss of consciousness and can be fatal, or result in brain damage.

 
Each year, more than 350,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and about 90% of them are fatal and a disproportionate number are Blacks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Blacks Die More from Sudden Cardiac Deaths

Researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute found that African-Americans in the U.S. experience sudden cardiac arrest at twice the rate as whites. Blacks have a higher incidence of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest in comparison with whites, as evidenced in emergency medical service systems data in several US cities.

 
According to Jonathan Kim, M.D., director of sports cardiology and associate professor of medicine at Emory University, Black athletes in high-school, college, and the professional rank have higher rates of sudden cardiac arrest.

Know 3 Warning Symptoms ‘Signs’ Specific to Cardiac Arrest

Three signs of cardiac arrest that are not signs of a heart attack include sudden loss of consciousness, lack of pulse and no breathing.

 
Other symptoms, such as dizziness or chest pain, may also indicate cardiac arrest, but they may also be associated with other conditions, like a heart attack. Therefore, it is important to observe the entire range of symptoms before making any conclusions.

In the Case of Cardiac Arrest, Begin CPR first

When a person suffers from cardiac arrest, survival depends on them immediately receiving CPR. For adults, check for responsiveness, then call for help.

 
If two people are available to help, one should begin CPR immediately while the other calls 911 and finds an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) if available and use it as soon as possible. Continue high-quality CPR until professional emergency medical services arrive.

Compression-only CPR, or hands-only CPR, is a CPR in which continuous compression is given and no mouth-to-mouth breathing or rescue breaths. According to the American Heart Association, compression-only is the most effective form of CPR for adults and teens.

 
Black folks, with the super-alarming disproportionate number of our people with heart-disease including sudden cardiac deaths, every Black household should have someone trained in Compression-Only CPR to save lives.

Indeed, Compression-Only CPR is a basic life support skill that anyone can perform, regardless of their education, training, or

experience.

*Note: An Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) can be used by anyone, it is designed to be user-friendly even without CPR training.

Black Heart Disease Epidemic!

According to recent 2024 data from the American Heart Association, 60% of Black American adults have heart disease, and heart disease death rates are highest among Black Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

 
Black men have a 70% higher risk of heart failure compared with white men; Black women have a 50% higher risk of heart failure compared with white women. Greater number of Blacks are dying from heart failure due to high levels of hypertension and diabetes.

Moreover, Black adults are more than twice as likely as white adults to be hospitalized for heart failure. They also spend longer in the hospital and are more likely to be admitted for the same issue again within 90 days.

Black women are more likely than white women to have a heart attack; Black adults are more likely than white adults to die from a heart attack. Black adults are more than twice as likely as white adults to be hospitalized for heart failure. Blacks also spend longer in the hospital and are more likely to be admitted again within 90 days.

Studies show that cardiovascular disease risk factors have substantially increased for Blacks 31-44. More Blacks have heart failure before their 50s; and more die from heart attacks and heat failure during their 50s.

Connected to this super-disproportionate rate of heart disease among Blacks, the American Journal of Cardiology (Aug 2024) reports that Black Americans suffered nearly 800,000 excess age-adjusted deaths and 24 million excess years of potential life lost due to cardiovascular disease from 2000 to 2022, compared with their White counterparts.

As a people we should be super-alarmed at the massive numbers of Blacks who have heart disease and die from it due to racism being a significant contributing risk-factor, yes we should be outraged by this chronic disease sickness and mortality crisis!

 
Indeed, Black folks we should be protesting out in the streets 'demanding' that this massive heart disease racial disparity be addressed now 'immediately' both by government on all levels and by us organizing in our communities around ‘heart health self-care responsibility’.

Blacks Have A Lot of Heart Disease But Few Black Heart Doctors

Recent data from the American Heart Association shows around 60% of Black American adults have heart disease, and heart disease death rates are highest among Black Americans compared to other racial and ethnic groups.

 
Indeed, Blacks are dominant when it comes to heart disease, yet its rare for them to be treated by a Black cardiologist. A 2021 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges found that only 4.2% of cardiologists are Black. 

An earlier study, published in 2019 in the journal JAMA Cardiology had similar findings, revealing that Black doctors made up only 3% of the cardiologist workforce. That same report found that 51% of cardiologists were white and 19% were Asian.

 
Moreover, a 2021 study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that the proportion of Black doctors in general in the U.S. had increased by only 4 percentage points over the last 120 years. 

The study also found that the share of Black male doctors remained the same since 1940. While there’s little data on the rates of Black women in cardiology, according to ‘The Lancet’ Black women make up only 2.8% of the physician workforce.

Report on Medical Access Finds One-Third of Black Americans Live in ‘Cardiology Deserts’

by Elaine Chen

Many Black Americans would have to travel across county lines just to find an open spot with a cardiologist, a new analysis found.

About 16.8 million Black Americans roughly 1 in 3 live in counties with little or no access to heart specialists, according to a report from GoodRx, a digital health company that provides drug discounts and also researches health trends.

When zooming in on counties that have sizable Black populations, the analysts found that 72% of these counties are “cardiology deserts,” most of them concentrated in southeastern states.

The findings illustrate the barriers to accessing care for a population that already faces a disproportionate burden from cardiovascular disease. It’s the leading cause of death in the U.S., and Black Americans face a 30% higher risk of death from heart disease than white people.

“We’re missing a huge chunk of individuals who really need this care and are having to jump through massive hoops to access that care,” said Tori Marsh, director of research at GoodRx. “When you have to jump through those hoops, you’re likely not going to.”

The analysts used data from Health Link Dimensions, a health data provider, to identify cardiologists across the country, and then mapped their locations to find which counties have cardiology deserts.

Prior research shows that counties with a high proportion of Black and Hispanic people already have less access to primary care doctors, often the first type of provider that people go to. 

But even if patients are able to get primary care, they would still need to see a cardiologist to address specific or urgent issues like heart failure and heart attacks, said Rishi Wadhera, a cardiologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

He noted that the report doesn’t account for how much access to telehealth services people have. But still, many services like cardiac stress tests can’t be performed remotely, said Wadhera, who’s also the section head of health policy and equity at the Smith Center for Outcomes Research.

The researchers also analyzed what the risk of heart disease looked like for people living in cardiology deserts. Using data on diabetes, obesity, smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and excessive alcohol consumption, the researchers assigned a score of 0 to 6 to counties, with a higher number meaning a greater risk of heart disease in that county.

Compared with the national average of 2.9, the counties with sizable Black populations that had little or no access to cardiologists had average scores of 3.6 and 4.5, respectively. That means the areas where heart specialists are most difficult to reach are also where specialists may be most needed.

Wadhera said to address these deserts, the federal government could strengthen incentives to encourage medical graduates to pursue practice in communities that have less access to specialists.

Utibe Essien, an assistant professor of medicine at UCLA who researches health disparities, noted that research shows Black patients fare better under the care of Black doctors in particular, but there are also deep issues affecting the supply of Black doctors.

In the South, where most of the cardiology desserts have been identified, there are likely greater disparities in wealth and educational opportunities, and thereby more barriers for Black people to become doctors in their communities, he said.

“The regions that we’re missing a lot of cardiologists are in the South and are in states, cities that likely have high rates of segregation,” he said. 

Heart Disease Targets Black Americans and Poverty, Unemployment Are Big Reasons Why

By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter

What researchers call 'social factors' are largely responsible for Black Americans having a greater risk of death from heart disease than whites, according to a new study.

Among the social factors that contribute to this racial disparity are unemployment, low income, lack of regular access to health care and lack of a partner, Tulane University researchers said.

“For so many years we have focused on smoking, diet, physical activity, obesity, [high blood pressure], diabetes and high cholesterol and we know those are important" for preventing heart disease, said lead author Dr. Jiang He, chair in epidemiology at Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. He added he was surprised that the Black-white difference in heart-disease death rates owes mainly to social factors.

Black Americans are 54% more likely to die of heart disease than white Americans, the study found. This is true even with a substantial overall reduction in heart disease deaths nationwide.

The study used health data from more than 50,000 U.S. adults. The researchers examined links between heart-related deaths and clinical risk factors like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure as well as lifestyle factors, including smoking, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and too little or too much sleep.

Researchers also considered social risk factors, such as unemployment, low income, food insecurity, limited education, lack of private health insurance, poor access to health care, and not being married or living with a partner.

Compared to white adults, Black adults had a 54% higher risk of heart-related death, which dropped to 34% after adjusting for clinical factors and 31% after adjusting for lifestyle risk factors. "However, after adjusting for social risk factors, this racial difference totally disappeared,” He said in a university news release.

This research follows another Tulane study that showed Black Americans are 59% more likely to die prematurely than white Americans. Adjusting for social factors referred to as social determinants of health reduced that gap to zero.

He said these findings underscore the importance of well-paying jobs, health care access and social support. He plans to put these findings into practice with a program that aims to address high blood pressure in New Orleans’ Black communities. It will partner with local churches to provide health screening training and free medication.

“It is essential to develop novel community-based interventions for reducing cardiovascular disease risk in Black populations,” He said.


*Study findings were published Aug. 15 in Annals of Internal Medicine.

New VCU-led Research Shows How Stress From Racism Influences Disparities in Heart Health

By Olivia Trani

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, yet the risk of death from this condition differs by race and ethnicity. Research has shown that Black adults are more likely to have poorer cardiovascular health compared with white adults and other minority groups. They are also more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity and high blood pressure, at an earlier age.

A new study led by Virginia Commonwealth University suggests that chronic stress from discrimination and adverse neighborhood conditions are some of the contributing factors behind this racial disparity. The research also found that the cardiovascular impact of these stressors varied by gender, with Black women more affected by discrimination and Black men more affected by neighborhood safety.

The findings, published in JAMA Network Open, could help providers and community partners better understand how certain stressors impact cardiovascular health within different groups, and thus could aid in the development of interventions. 

“Our goal was to understand what types of factors contribute to the stress experiences of Black people. If we can identify certain stressors to target in our mitigation strategies, we can hopefully improve cardiovascular health outcomes and reduce disparities in heart disease,” said Anika L. Hines, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Policy at the VCU School of Population Health and lead author of the new study. Hines heads the Equity in Cardiovascular Health Outcomes Lab, which researches cardiovascular health disparities in Black communities.

Chronic stress and stress-related coping mechanisms are associated with increased heart disease. Experts believe that the cumulation of stress from a lifespan of structural and interpersonal racism may cause Black individuals to have differential stress-related health outcomes.

“We have these natural mechanisms in our body which respond to stressful situations, often referred to your fight-or-flight response. However, being persistently exposed to various stressors can throw your system off balance. Over time, the various systems that are supposed to help you during periods of stress can actually deteriorate your organ functioning,” Hines said.

For this study, Hines and her colleagues utilized data from the REGARDS project, a national study focused on better understanding geographic and racial differences in stroke mortality. They examined survey responses and clinical information collected from more than 7,500 participants.

To assess a person’s cardiovascular health, the researchers generated scores based on four health behaviors (cigarette smoking, diet, physical activity and body mass index) and three health indicators (blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels).

In their survey responses, participants reported how often they experienced racial discrimination, including at school, while receiving medical care or from the police. Participants were also asked about the condition of their local neighborhood, such as whether they feel safe, what the noise and traffic level is like and whether there is adequate access to grocery stores, parks and playgrounds. They additionally provided information about how connected they feel to their neighborhood, such as whether neighbors get along, trust one another, share the same values and are willing to help one another.

“We wanted to assess the various ways in which social and physical environments could impact an individual to see if we could understand which factors are contributing to the disparity. Social and economic determinants of health may feel so final that they can’t be adjusted, but these are often a result of policies,” Hines said.

The data showed that Black adults, especially Black women, had poorer cardiovascular health compared with white adults. While Black men had 27% lower odds of having better cardiovascular health than white men, Black women had 55% lower odds than white women - more than double the racial gap among men.

Compared with white participants, Black participants reported higher levels of perceived stress and more often reported instances of discrimination. Black participants also reported worse neighborhood conditions and more often reported that their neighborhoods were unsafe.

The data analysis showed that the disproportionate exposure to these stressors accounted for some of the racial disparity in cardiovascular health. According to the researchers’ calculations, stress from discrimination explained 11% of the racial difference in cardiovascular health between Black and white participants. Stress from neighborhood conditions also influenced this racial disparity, specifically the level of safety (6%), physical features (5%) and social connectedness (1%) within a neighborhood.

The research team discovered that the impact of these stressors varied by gender. Their results showed that discrimination explained 14% of the racial differences in cardiovascular health among women, while neighborhood safety attenuated these racial differences by 12% among men.

These findings suggest that public health approaches for reducing heart disease disparities may be more impactful by strategically targeting certain stressors. For example, addressing the unique stressors that tie into coping with discrimination could be more consequential in Black women, whereas addressing the impact of neighborhood violence may be more important for Black men.

“This study shows the importance of intersectional experiences when considering solutions for health disparities,” Hines said. “Marginalized groups aren’t monoliths. Even in the umbrella of marginalization related to race, there can be differential experiences based on gender, socioeconomic status and other factors.”

Hines and her colleagues are currently working with community members to design feasible interventions for young Black women to combat stress from these unique racial, gendered experiences with discrimination.

“We measure things so that we can do something about it. We hope that our findings help inform strategies, both in terms of policies and therapies, for dismantling these health disparities,” Hines said. “The more evidence we build in this field, the more improvements we can hopefully make in terms of structural change.