The Black community, heart valve disease, socioeconomic factors influencing the health care system

(The Dallas Examiner) –“It’s important to note that racism, either structural or interpersonal, negatively affects the health of people of color with many diseases, including valve disease. The disproportionate impact of risk factors for heart valve disease on people of color is just one example of these health disparities,” Katin Werner-Perez, health program manager with Alliance for Aging Research, explained as she opened at a recent webinar. Black Americans experience risk factors for valve disease, such as high blood pressure and heart failure, at higher rates and earlier ages than their White counterparts. This makes the average age of valve disease onset among Black Americans younger. Because the disease is often thought of as being age-related, valve disease often goes undetected and untreated in Blacks when compared to Whites. Related Stories “1.6 million people are living with tricuspid heart valve disease in the United States. Of those that are undergoing tricuspid surgery, 60% of patients are White, while Black and Hispanic patients represent only 10% and 6%, respectively.” The webinar – Heart Valve Disease: Its Effects in the Black Community – recently hosted by the National Caucus and Center of Black Aging, discussed the intricacies of heart disease and its...