Number 1 Cause of Death in Black Women Remains Heart Disease

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Black women and it remains a serious issue. According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Black women have an even higher risk of dying from heart disease — and at a younger age — than white women. Dr. LaPrincess Brewer, a Mayo Clinic cardiologist, says this serious issue is compounded by the fact many Black women are not aware of their risk. 

Here are a few unsettling stats:

• Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 Black women annually.
• Of Black women ages 20 and older, 49 percent have heart diseases.
• Only 1 in 5 Black women believes she is personally at risk.
• Only 58% of Black women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack.
• Only 36% of Black women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk.

Researchers have found that there may be a gene that makes Black people much more sensitive to the effects of salt, which in turn increases the risk for developing high blood pressure. In people who have this gene, as little as one extra gram (half a teaspoon) of salt could raise blood pressure by as much as five millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

The Black population also tends to have higher rates of obesity and diabetes, which puts them at greater risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. But for many Black women, particularly those who consider themselves perfectly healthy, perception may not always equal reality.

Brewer says Black women have the highest hypertension rates in the world in part because they face a high burden of negative social determinants of health, such as chronic stress related to factors like food insecurity, systematic racism, the wealth gap, and socioeconomically disenfranchised communities. More than 40% of non-Hispanic blacks have high blood pressure, which is more severe in blacks than whites and develops earlier in life. 

These factors can prevent them from living a healthy lifestyle and controlling many heart disease risk factors. Brewer recommends that all women keep heart health as a priority and follow the American Heart Association’s “Life’s Simple 7” lifestyle changes to achieve ideal heart health: 

• Manage blood pressure 
• Lower salt intake 
• Improve eating habit 
• Control cholesterol 
• Reduce blood sugar
• If you are not active, get moving 
• Eat better 
• Lose weight 
• Stop smoking 

Know the warning signs of a stroke 

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden, severe headache with no known cause