Heart Disease

What Is Heart Disease?

“Heart Disease” is a term that can refer to a variety of ailments ranging from heart attacks, chest pain (angina), congestive heart failure (CHF), arrhythmias (irregular, fast, or slow heart beat), and etc. For the purposes of this article, we will discuss Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) which is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.

What Is Coronary Artery Disease?

CAD is caused by the progressive thickening of the inside walls of the coronary arteries, the small blood vessels that supply blood to the heart muscle. This thickening, referred to as arteriosclerosis, narrows the space through which blood can flow and decreases the supply of oxygen and nutrients to the heart. A heart attack occurs when there is complete blockage of blood flow to a portion of the heart muscle.

Heart Disease and African American Women

According to noted cardiologist Dr. Richard Allen Williams, “heart disease has long been considered a disorder which principally affects men in our society; consideration of the occurrence of heart attacks in females has been largely been an afterthought.”

We now know that every woman should be concerned about heart disease. It is the number one killer of American women and it is estimated that 370,000 women in the United States die from heart disease each year.

Dr. Williams notes that African American women are especially affected by CAD in a negative manner. They have a higher mortality and morbidity than African American men and White women under the age of 55. In the age group 25-44, African American women have 2.5 times the coronary heart disease mortality risk of white women.

Symptoms

• The symptoms of CAD vary from individual to individual. Symptoms can include:
• Chest pain (angina)
• Shortness of breath with exertion (may be an early sign of CAD).
• Chest heaviness, tightness, or pressure.

Are You At Risk?

Risk factors are habits or traits that make a person more likely to develop a disease. The more risk factors you have, the greater your risk for development of disease. Heart disease risk factors include:

• Cigarette smoking
• High Blood Pressure
• High Cholesterol
• Overweight
• Physical Inactivity
• Diabetes
• Family history of heart disease

Dr. Williams points out that cigarette smoking and obesity represent risk factors which have been documented to increase cardiovascular disease in black women. Diabetes is of particular concern in black women as a risk factor; the death rate among black diabetics is 2.5 times higher that in diabetic whites.

What Can I Do?

Making lifestyle changes to reduce your risk factors for heart disease is one of the best thing you can do to improve the “health” of your heart. Consider taking the following steps:

• Make an appointment with your doctor for a physical exam (if you have not had one recently).
• Discuss your risk factors for heart disease with your doctor.
• Make a plan to reduce any risk factors that you may have.
• Continue (or start) to get regular aerobic exercise.
• Eat a sensible, balanced diet.