Listen up sisters (and brothers), CNN reports that our people suffer heart failure at a rate that is 20 times that of whites. Yes, 20 times. Plus, this is happening to us earlier (in our 30s and 40s as opposed to 50s and 60s for whites).“Heart failure is a condition in which the heart is unable to adequately pump blood to the body, often resulting in difficulty breathing, fatigue and swelling of the abdomen and/or extremities. Sufferers are often unable to work, walk easily or perform simple daily tasks.”

Now this may not come as a surprise to most of us , we’ve heard about (or even know) men and women in our community who’ve dropped dead from a heart attack at a young age. But this study, published in The New England Journal Of Medicine points out that these symptoms are present in some of us as early as our 20s. (yeah, it’s that bad).

One of the biggest culprits for us , according to the lead researcher, Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, is high blood pressure. This condition can be both genetic and environmental in our community. In other words, if we don’t inherit the traits we inherit the bad behavior. As a result, obesity, especially among sisters, is at an all time high (which can be as high as 40% in some areas of the country). This gives us a higher risk of HBP and for the possibility of heart issues. 

The reason these heart failure findings are so significant is that after you are diagnosed with heart failure, it impacts your quality of life and ultimately how long you live. Dr. Clyde Yancy of the American Heart Association says, “ ”If someone is diagnosed with heart failure at age 30, then even if we’re talking about a 10-year life expectancy, they would be dead by age 40.” And he adds that  five-year survival rate upon diagnosis is between 35 and 50 percent. 

This is one of the reasons that we know people in our community who die from heart disease in their 40s (that and the fact that much of our HBP goes undiagnosed because we don’t go to the doctor). 

Adding to all this are the recent findings from the National Cancer Institute which look at the impact of a diet of red and processed meat has on life expectancy.
“The red meat in the study included all types of beef and pork, including bacon, cold cuts, ham, hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak, as well as meat in pizza, chili, lasagna, and stew.”

Basically, if you eat this stuff everyday, you have a higher risk of dying over a ten-year period than people who don’t. Again, the cause may be heart disease. But it also may be cancer.

So what to do? First know if you’re at risk for HBP and minimize your risks by moving more (yes, I mean exercise) and monitoring your diet. This, my sister, is no joke.

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