Addressing health disparities: impact of Black history on heart health

By Marcus St. John, MD Cardiologist (Black PR Wire) Miami, FL—African-Americans are disproportionately harder hit by cardiovascular disease risk factors and are as much as three times more likely to die from heart disease than non-Hispanic Whites, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association.  While overall cardiovascular death rates have been declining, a report last year in the Journal of the American Heart Association – based on socio-economic federal data – found that cardiovascular death rates remained higher in rural counties and in counties with a higher percentage of Black residents. Cardiovascular death rates were most strongly linked to income status, along with access to healthy foods and housing, suggesting that addressing these issues could save lives, the American Heart Association (AHA) states. Marcus St. John, M.D., interventional cardiologist and medical director of Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute‘s Cardiac Catheterization Lab (Cath Lab), is also the AHA’s board president in South Florida.  “One of the ways that the American Heart Association is working toward getting health equity is reaching into communities where there’s need,” explains Dr. St. John. “For example, the AHA is helping set up food shelters or making...