Pertaining to African American women, heart disease and stroke are the leading cause of death. The risk factors that contribute to heart disease and stroke are diabetes, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, and a family history of heart disease. In addition, African American women have double the risk of Caucasian women and die at an earlier age than women of other ancestry. Hypertension (high blood pressure) also is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Research indicates an excess of 40 percent of non-Hispanic blacks have hypertension, which develops earlier and is more severe than non-Blacks.
Recommendations to remain healthy include lowering your salt/sodium intake of food and beverages. Change your habits to cook healthy, study healthy choices, and get physically active with routine exercise.
Statistics:
Warning Signs of Stroke
Recommendations to remain healthy include lowering your salt/sodium intake of food and beverages. Change your habits to cook healthy, study healthy choices, and get physically active with routine exercise.
Statistics:
- Cardiovascular diseases kill ~ 50,000 African American women each year.
- ~ 50 % of African American women ages 20 and older suffer from cardiovascular disease.
- Only 1 in 5 African American women is aware of their risk.
- Only 52 percent of African American women are knowledgeable about the symptoms of a heart attack.
Warning Signs of 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
RSS Feed