Risk of fatal coronary artery disease is higher among black men and women than in whites, finds study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Heart Attack - Overview
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Other names for heart attack include acute myocardial infarction, coronary thrombosis, and coronary occlusion.
"During the time period since the last reports on the incidence of heart disease, two things happened - statins came into wider use to manage coronary heart disease, and blood tests to detect heart attacks became more sensitive, enabling physicians to identify much smaller cardiac events," says the study''s lead author, Monika M. Safford, M.D., professor in the UAB Division of Preventive Medicine. "However, prior to our study, there were no data on how these two advances have impacted racial and sex differences in coronary heart disease rates."
Safford and colleagues looked at data from the NIH-funded Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study to examine total coronary heart disease rates, fatal coronary heart disease rates and nonfatal coronary heart disease rates among blacks and whites, and among men and women. They analyzed whether risk factors for coronary heart disease were associated with the observed differences in risks by race and sex. They also analyzed the effect of very small heart attacks on these differences. All of this was part of their effort to determine if racial differences continue to persist and, if so, to identify possible causes.
Quiz on Heart Attack
The risk factors that work behind the scene before a heart attack are familiar to many. But do you realize the extent to which your lifestyle choices are putting your life at risk? Can you identify a heart attack when it occurs? Take our quiz and find out.
The risk factors that work behind the scene before a heart attack are familiar to many. But do you realize the extent to which your lifestyle choices are putting your life at risk? Can you identify a heart attack when it occurs? Take our quiz and find out.
The researchers found that although the measured incidence rate of total coronary heart disease was similar among black men and white men, black men had a higher incidence of fatal coronary heart disease and a lower incidence of nonfatal coronary heart disease. Women had lower incidence rates than men within each racial group. However, black women had higher incidence rates than white women for total coronary heart disease, fatal coronary heart disease and nonfatal coronary heart disease.
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"Excess risk factors among black men and women continue to be a major public health challenge, which may be contributing to their high risk for death from coronary heart disease," Safford says. "It''s very hard to prevent future heart disease when people die of their first sign of heart disease. This is frustrating because we have effective interventions available. To potentially reduce these persistent disparities, we need to improve our interventions targeted at this high-risk group, optimizing education and treatment for these well-established coronary heart disease risk factors among blacks."
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Foods to Lower Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Heart diseases are the most common and threatening disease today. It has takes millions of lives all over the world each year and the death count is not going down. Here are tips to a healthy heart.
Heart diseases are the most common and threatening disease today. It has takes millions of lives all over the world each year and the death count is not going down. Here are tips to a healthy heart.
Source-Newswise
