Heart Disease, the Number One Cause of Death for Black Women

isSeveral years ago, the editor of Closing the Gap in Health Care died from a massive heart attack, while sitting on stage, awaiting an award from her high school.  The pain of her sudden death continues to haunt me because we had recently discussed health issues among African American women.

There is an article, “The Heart Symptoms All Black Women Should Know and Never Ignore,” that appears in the February, 2019 issue of Essence magazine. I am encouraging you to please read the article here and heed the recommendations.

The reasons for 48% of adult African American women having a high prevalence of heart disease are the lack of education about the symptoms and the lack of economic means to take action.  50% of African American women have one risk factor for heart disease. 

Family history is a very important risk factor for heart disease and a cardiac screen is appropriate if there is a history.