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CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE Although we fear AIDS and cancers more, it is another very preventable ailment-heart disease-that kills most African-Americans. Heart disease was the cause of death of approximately 45,000 African-Americans in 1997. It has many faces, including hypertension, heart failure, and heart attack. Most of these are serious health problems for the entire nation but kill African-Americans disproportionately. Risk factors for heart disease include obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, uncontrolled diabetes, smoking, excess alcohol use, a poor diet, aging, and the use of dangerous, illicit drugs such as cocaine and amphetamines. Nutrition is also key. To maintain your heart's health it is important to avoid not only foods high in fat, but also high in simple sugar, because such sugar contributes to obesity and to poorly controlled diabetes. Meat is also suspect because red meat raises homocysteine levels that have been tied to heart disease risks. For information on the many things you can do to reduce your chance of getting heart disease, visit the Web site of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) at www.abcardio.org. The Association of Black Cardiologists is a nonprofit volunteer organization of more than 700 African-American cardiologists and medical professionals that is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. In 1974, the initial groundwork was laid by Dr. Richard Allen Williams and 16 other cardiologists, to form the Association of Black Cardiologists. The organization's establishment emerged out of a need for health providers, particularly those who provide cardiovascular care to African-Americans, to coalesce as a group to promote primary prevention, quality of life, and culturally sensitive clinical management of cardiovascular diseases. The ABC believes that good health is the cornerstone of progress for African-Americans. They are firm in their resolve to make exemplary healthcare accessible and affordable to all in need, dedicated to lowering the high rate of cardiovascular diseases in minority populations, and committed to advocacy and diversity. Start your path to a healthy heart with the ABC's 7 Steps to Good Health. They are as follows:
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