The Role Of Heart Disease In African-American Women

Some of the comparisons would be Dr. Troutman explaining that no matter the social status African American’s health outcomes are going to be worse than their white counterpart. Chapter 9 shows examples of minorities with the same education as whites making less, how institutional racism affects the lives of minorities.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States. It is estimated that one in four women die from heart disease every year. Women are at a higher risk for heart disease than men because of a lack of knowledge and information. Women often feel the need to care for others before themselves and neglect their own health needs. As mothers, and sisters, and daughters it is important to protect our health for those that depend on us. Heart disease is preventable through knowledge and awareness and taking precautionary steps.

According to the office of the minority health, approximately 48% of African American women and 44% of African American men suffer from some form of the cardiovascular disease which includes heart disease and stroke and adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure while the women are 1.6 times more likely to die from heart diseases and complications than other ethnic groups (The Office of Minority Health, 2016).

Latino Americans are the largest growing population in the United Stated and with the rising number of Latinos, we have also been seeing a disparity on health care especially in heart related conditions. Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States along with strokes and Latino Americans are at higher risks for coronary heart disease which accounts for 23.9 % of all deaths in the United States and heart disease is the nation's leading cause of death among Hispanic adults. In 2015, approximately 85.6 million or more which is greater than 1 in 3 adults in the United States are diagnosed with at least one type of coronary heart disease. Hispanic Americans are 8.3 % of the total number who have been diagnosed with some kind of coronary

If everyone in the United States is treated equal, then why are Americans facing health disparities regarding to race? Race has always been an issue in this country. When it comes to the healthcare system, not all Americans receive the same outcomes or came services as others. Most Americans due to race receives unfair healthcare treatment because they’re not getting appropriate medical attention, they’re more likely to do die based on their illness, and if they’re uninsured they can’t receive any medical attention. This argument is going to be based on Americans who face these health disparities in the U.S regarding to mental health disorders, breast cancer, and the people who are uninsured.

It is crucial that the African American women of the 21st century take responsibility for our health. Too many illnesses have become flashing threats to our people, such as diabetes, Aids and heart conditions. Black women have the responsibility of educating themselves to eat right, get the proper exercise and frequently see a doctor. It is beyond the point of just using Grandma's old remedies to fix everything, or assuming it won't happen to you because reality is we are dying everyday of these threats.

The American Medical Journal explains that the heart disease is one of the deadliest medical conditions. Medical experts reckon that heart disease is a lifestyle disease, which emanates from excessive consumption of the wrong dietary combination. Foods such as fats and carbohydrates often expose individuals to the threat of heart disease. Consuming fast foods from McDonalds also expose people to the threat of heart disease. The most plausible means of mitigating the risk of contacting heart disease is by observing dietary combination. Individuals must keep a balanced diet always in order to avoid dietary concerns later on in life. The most common symptoms include chest discomfort, nausea, trouble sleeping, breathing problems, and unusual tiredness.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health promotion as “The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus on individual behavior towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions.”

Epidemiology is the study of the relationships between disease and causation in human populations. It utilizes research and scientific methods to identify risk factors and approaches to decrease disease risk and to promote healthy habits. Community health nurses use this science to assess, diagnose, plan, and evaluate health improvement initiatives (Nies & McEwen, 2015-a). Ecosocial epidemiology is a newer, more complex approach as it focuses on the role of social, environmental, political and economic factors along with biological processes to understand health and illness (Nies & McEwan, 2015-b). In this post, I will discuss the rate of infant mortality among the African-American population in Franklin County and apply the ecosocial

It is significant in underserved communities and it is most preventable. The risk factors to name a few are high blood pressure, poor diet & physical inactivity and obesity. It is pivotal to address these risks to prevent heart failure and strokes. The risk is controllable if certain life style changes are made. More than one in three adults which is 81.1 million lives with heart disease. In the Healthy people 2020 statistics the target for deaths caused by heart disease and stroke has declined from 1999 and 2011 from 194.6 to 109.2 deaths per 100,000 populations. This shows some progress. To maximize these results I would push for promotion of healthy eating habits and physical activities for people of all ages in underserved communities along with education specifically for unfortunate people.

Keywords: socioeconomic status (SES), cardiovascular disease (CVD), African American, risk factors, social determinants, and health disparities, institutionalized racism.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines High Blood Pressure as the force of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries, which carry blood from your heart to other parts of your body. Blood pressure normally rises and falls throughout the day. But if it stays high for a long time, it can damage your heart and lead to health problems. High blood pressure raises your risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States. One out of every three adults over the age of twenty- that’s nearly eighty million Americans have high blood pressure. What’s more interesting is that nearly twenty percent don’t even know they don’t have it. Consequently, African American suffer more from this disease than any other race. According to the American Heart Association, forty percent of African American men and women have high blood pressure (AHA, 2016). Notably, adults twenty years and older consist of 42.6 percent are men and 47.0 percent are women that have this illness. For years’ researchers, have tried to understand why High Blood Pressure affect the African American at a higher rate than others. As a

The African Americans are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality than other ethnicities.1 This obvious health disparity between African-American population compared to other ethnicities calls for attention towards the need for an increased awareness of heart disease that affects African-Americans in the United States. Although African-Americans women have a higher risk of developing heart disease, very few are aware of their risks or get the medical care. Thus, the HBM model forms the conceptual framework that helps develop an ideal intervention that targets the African-American women’s lack of awareness of their health risk. On the other hand, the TTM model provides the perfect model to assesses the participant’s readiness to take charge and make the necessary behavior change, and helps recognize and create an ideal environment for the individuals to utilize the opportunities provided for the intervention to be effective. The physical activity intervention is a great intervention that targets younger as well as non- educated or low socio-economic status

Karen Williams is at highest risk of having heart attack due to her personal and medical backgrounds. She is 46 years old, African-American woman which according to study published in England Journal 2009, African- Americans have much higher incidence of heart failure than any other races, and before age 50 heart failure rate is 20 times higher. She has strong family history of cardiovascular disease. She lost her father and grandfather from heart attack that increases her risk of developing heart disease. Her obesity, smoking, high fat diet, lack of physical activity and a stressful job also contribute to her potential risk of heart attack.

Heart disease is many conditions of the structures of the heart that can lead to death (“Heart and stroke foundation”, n.d.). Heart disease is the second cause of mortality in Canada second to cancer. According to the statistics in 2013 over 20% of the male population died of heart disease in comparison to over 18% in women (“statistics Canada”,2013). This is a public health issue because people deserve to know that we can possibly cure heart disease by living healthier lives in terms of diet and exercise. Heart disease as a health state is that health that we live it can be clogged arteries or living with excess amount of weight not being able to let the heart function to its fullest abilities. People with less socioeconomic status tend to have a higher chance of getting heart disease (“Lower socioeconomic status...”, 2011). With the public health goals in mind to preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health. Heart disease is preventable by living a more active lifestyle and healthier eating habits. Therefore, we can promote a healthy life and prolong the death of the people ahead of time. In Canada we have multiple organizations supporting healthy living and people with heart disease. For example, we have the heart and stroke foundation that give people symptoms and ways they can get help to treat and detect heart disease. And cardiac health that promotes ways to get active with the community and eat healthy foods.