Part II Black History Month — Read about common diseases in this ethnic group compared to others.

The rates of death by diabetes for each race and ethnicity in the United States in 2005.

Heart disease and stroke disproportionately affect African-Americans. Why? One this race is highiest in B/P&high in stroke(one main cause of stoke=high b/p).

Black Americans and High Blood Pressure Heart Disease & Stroke

“What sets the stage for the more aggressive and higher incidence of heart disease in African-Americans is a very high incidence of high blood pressure,” Yancy says. “This predisposes African-Americans to more heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. This makes us focus on high blood pressure as it forces heart failure.”

Know the facts of how to get High B/P. Factors are: Obesity, High Sodium intake, Lack of Exercise, and Genetic History in the family.

Clinical Trials show blacks and whites respond differently to treatments for high blood pressure. Indeed, treatment guidelines suggest that doctors should consider different drugs based on a patient’s race.

But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.

This ethnic group has factors for complicated B/P. Non-compliance with the Rx they should be doing and not going to follow up visits. Ignoring symptoms till they have to go to the ER. In America if you go to an ER of hospital government assisted they can’t say No we can’t take you for no insurance. Lack of having medical insurance is another factor.

Unfortunately if no insurance due to inability to afford it and can’t go to doctors for a office visit. There is help. What is available is free clinics to provide medical service to any person who can’t afford a bill due to lack of insurance with no fee. Check out freeclinics.com to find where your free clinics are available in the area you live.

Health care differences between African-Americans and white Americans.

But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.

“Data suggests that all therapies do equally well — but patients at higher risk need more intensive therapy,” he says.

A similar situation exists for heart failure. A promising treatment for heart failure didn’t seem to be working — until researchers noticed that it worked much better for black patients than for white patients. A study of black patients confirmed this finding — and provided tantalizing evidence that the drug will help patients of all races with certain disease characteristics.

Clinical trials show blacks and whites respond differently to treatments for high blood pressure. Indeed, treatment guidelines suggest that doctors should consider different drugs based on a patient’s race.But Yancey says that a closer look at the data shows that race tends to be a marker for more complicated high blood pressure treatment.”Data suggests that all therapies do equally well — but patients at higher risk need more intensive therapy,” he says.A similar situation exists for heart failure. A promising treatment for heart failure didn’t seem to be working — until researchers noticed that it worked much better for black patients than for white patients. A study of black patients confirmed this finding — and provided tantalizing evidence that the drug will help patients of all races with certain disease characteristics.“The way this discussion of race differences has been helpful for the whole field of cardiology, is it is exposing new treatment options for all people with heart failure for African-American and Caucasian,” Yancy says.

Black Americans and Lung Disease

A 2005 report from the American Lung Association shows that black Americans suffer far more lung disease than white Americans do.

Some of the findings:

-Black Americans have more asthma than any racial or ethnic group in America. And blacks are 3 times more likely to die of asthma than the white race.

-Black Americans are 3 times more likely to suffer sarcoidosis than white Americans. The lung-scarring disease is 16 times more deadly for blacks than for whites. Black men are leading ethnic sex as smokers.

-Black American children are 3 times as likely as white American children to have sleep apnea.

-Black American babies die of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) 2.5 times as often as white American babies.

-Black American men are 50% more likely to get lung cancer than white American men. Lets know some facts, in particular Smoking:

See the image below for the percentage of black men versus white men who smoke in the USA that definitely puts you health at risk for problems.

Image result for Statistics on wornen smokers of the USA

Related image

Also your environment plays a role. Example living in Jersey City as opposed to the country puts you at a highier risk for lung cancer possibly due to the pollution content, especially if you have been living there 20 years or more as opposed to 5 years. You have to look at factors that could cause smoking (This is a whole another topic by itself).

Black Americans and Diabetes

Black Americans — and Mexican-Americans — have twice the risk of diabetes as white Americans. In addition, blacks with diabetes have more serious complications — such as loss of vision, loss of limbs, and kidney failure — than whites, notes Maudene Nelson, RD, certified diabetes educator at Naomi Barry Diabetes Center at Columbia University.“The theory is that maybe it is access to health care, or maybe a cultural fatalism — thinking, ‘It is God’s will,’ or, ‘My family had it so I have it’ — not a sense of something I can have an impact on so it won’t hurt me,” Nelson tells WebMD. “But more and more there is thinking it is something that makes blacks genetically more susceptible. It is hard to tell how much of it is what.”

Keep in mind besides Hereditary, Obesity and POOR DIET with NO EXERCISE, and controlling your glucose level (between 100-120 but cer all play crucial factors in getting diabetes.

The Forgotten Killer – There is, indeed, evidence that African-Americans may have a genetic susceptibility to diabetes. Even so, Nelson says, the real problem is empowering patients to keep their diabetes under control.

TO CONTROL DIABETES IS BASED ON DISCIPLINE OF THE INDIVIDUAL TO CONTROL THE DISEASE, ESPECIALLY DM TYPE II! ITS NOT BASED ON JUST BEING BLACK! IT WOULD BE MORE OF A CHALLENGE THE DM TYPE I! EXERCISE, DIET, WEIGHT ARE THE MAJOR FACTORS TO CONTROLLING WITH TAKING MEDS THAT ARE PRESCRIBED BY THE MD (pills to insulin).

“Patients often have the sense that they are not as much in charge of managing their diabetes as their doctor,” Nelson says. “Where I work, in various settings, there is an emphasis on patients. We say this is what your blood sugar is; this is what influences your blood sugar; you have to remember to take your meds. So as a diabetes educator I know there has to be an emphasis on patients putting out more effort to manage their own health.”

Black Americans and Sickle Cell Anemia

It’s no surprise that sickle cell anemia affects African-Americans far more than it does white Americans.

This, clearly, is a genetic disease that has little to do with the environment. Yet even here — with a killer disease — social and political issues come into play.

LeRoy M. Graham Jr., MD-a pediatric lung expert, serves on the American Lung Association’s board of directors, is associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, and serves as staff physician for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Graham says, the National Institutes of Health is changing this situation.

One reason for this change — as research into lung disease, heart disease, and diabetes shows — is the growing realization that the health black Americans who dominate this disease primarily and not a caucasian disease is a human health issue that needs to be addressed like all others. All diseases need to be addressed but obviously the highest number of population regarding diseases are looked into more to decrease the count.

Strive For Good Health