Dear Reader:

Why Do Black Women Have A Higher Risk of Death from Heart Disease Than White Women?

A few months back I wrote a blog piece entitled, Reading is More Than Fundamental. I believe that. I am always encouraging people to read – read anything – stuff they like. Stuff they need. Material that will help them live healthier, better lives; enlightening works that take you to a higher place.

While this may be a little more clinical than what I typically recommend, I am suggesting to our female readers (and the men who love them) that they read an article published in The Journal of Women’s Health that seeks to answer the question why Black women face a greater risk of dying from heart disease than White women.

The link to the study is here, go to it. Again, I encourage you to read the study and share it with someone.

Among a group of women with symptoms of angina who were tested for a suspected coronary blockage, nearly 3 times as many black women as white women died of heart disease. The study determined whether differences in the women's angina symptoms could affect the risk of death in these two groups, and the researchers report their findings in Journal of Women’s Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available on the Journal of Women’s Health website.

Jo-Ann Eastwood, PhD and a team of researchers from medical institutions across the U.S. found that for white women, the severity or type of anginal symptoms—whether typical chest pain or more atypical symptoms such as stomach pain—did not affect outcomes. However black women tended to have more atypical symptoms, a worse prognosis when diagnosed with heart disease, and a higher risk of related death.

In the article “Anginal Symptoms, Coronary Artery Disease, and Adverse Outcomes in Black and White Women: The NHLBI-Sponsored Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) Study,” the authors conclude that these racial differences in symptom presentation for coronary artery disease may be a barrier to correct and timely diagnosis and an important contributor to poorer outcomes for black women.

“These results indicate that we need to raise awareness among women and their healthcare providers of racial differences in anginal symptom presentation in order to improve both diagnosis and outcomes,” says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women’s Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women’s Health.

About the Journal
Journal of Women’s Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women’s healthcare issues. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women’s Health website. Journal of Women’s Health is the Official Journal of the Academy of Women’s Health and the Society for Women’s Health Research.

 

More health information is available at Brain Brawn & Body and find out about other healthy events on Healthy Happenings. I invite you to read, learn, enjoy!

 

Eric Von

Publisher/Editor