Published: February 11, 2005
AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN FACE HIGHEST MORTALITY RATES FROM HEART DISEASE, BUT HAVE LOWEST AWARENESS OF THREAT
Free Nationwide Screenings Can Help Them Discover
If They Are At Risk
Washington,
DC (BlackNews.com) - Heart disease is the leading cause of death in
African American women, yet they are less aware than white women of the
threat it poses. That's why African American women should take advantage
of the free heart screenings offered nationwide on Friday, February 18,
National Woman's Heart Day, to discover if they are at risk for heart
disease and what to do if they are.
Sponsored by Sister to Sister: Everyone Has a Heart Foundation, Inc.®, the screenings will be held in 12 cities, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Miami, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. (see www.sistertosister.org for times and locations). They measure cholesterol, blood pressure, blood glucose and body mass index. Results are provided on-the-spot, and include medical counseling. The health fairs feature fitness, beauty and cooking demonstrations and giveaways. They also include seminars with nationally known experts on diabetes, nutrition, obesity, fitness, quitting smoking and stress management, all key to heart disease prevention.
"Cardiovascular disease accounts for nearly 40 percent of all deaths among African American women," said Irene Pollin, founder and President of Sister to Sister. "Providing heart screenings so women can learn about their personal risk factors and how to reduce them is a key step in prevention and treatment," she added.
The rate of heart disease for African American women is 72 percent higher than for white women. African American women ages 55-64 are twice as likely as white women to have a heart attack and 35 percent more likely to suffer from coronary artery disease.
"African
American women have higher prevalence rates of high blood pressure, obesity,
physical inactivity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome than white women.
Yet they are less likely than white women to know that being overweight,
smoking, physical inactivity, high cholesterol and a family history of
heart disease increase their heart disease risk," said Lori Mosca,
M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., director of preventive cardiology at New York-Presbyterian
Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and Chief Medical Advisor
for Sister to Sister. "That's why it's especially critical for African
American women to be screened for heart disease."
"The good news is that all women can lower their risk of heart disease by as much as 82 percent through simple lifestyle changes," said Pollin. "Women, who do so much for others, must take care of their own hearts. It may be the best ten minutes they ever spend!"
Bank of America is the presenting national sponsor of the National Woman's Heart Day Health Fairs. Other sponsors include America Online, Discovery Health Channel, and iVillage. Government partners include the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sister to Sister is a nonprofit foundation whose mission is:
* To make women more aware that heart disease is a leading killer of women
* To offer free nationwide heart health screenings for women, the first step toward prevention
* To encourage women of all ages and backgrounds to adopt heart healthy lifestyles
For more information, please visit online at www.sistertosister.org
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