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’.
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