African American Male Wellness Walk encourages Black men to get regularly get checked by doctors

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Hundreds packed the Norton Sports and Learning Center for the African American Male Wellness Walk.On Saturday, walkers came together for a worthwhile cause — the 5K walk at the track. But it was more than just that, resources were provided inside the facility to better educate Black men to get their checkups.Kamari Wooten is the organizer.”I just thought it was imperative with the health disparities we face as Black men, not knowing our numbers, our life expectancy rate for a Black man is 67 years old when our counterparts are 80,” Wooten said.Wooten was at this walk last year in Ohio, he just happened to get his blood pressure checked. The results, he says, left him speechless”It was really scary, to be honest with you, I’m 38 years old and I was facing blood pressure and there are so many different symptoms that can come from blood pressure,” Wooten said.He made some lifestyle changes once he found out his blood pressure, glucose and cholesterol levels, something he admits he had no interest in learning before. On Saturday, more than 130 Black men came to find out where they stand.”I wanted to come out and just check my blood pressure and see what was going on,” said west Louisville resident, Terry Atkinson.He says his blood pressure levels came back normal.”I’m alright, but I wanted to get checked anyway. I just got checked yesterday, but I wanted to get checked again” Atkinson said.Dr. Steven Patton, a family doctor for Norton Healthcare, says the numbers speak for themselves. He says there’s a racial disparity Black men face.”Women are outliving us; they have an additional five years on us in general. When it comes to the Black man, he has an additional five years less compared to his white counterpart,” Patton said.It’s why he and organizers preach to get your tests done regularly.”It’s all about knowing your numbers and being aware of your health,” Patton said.

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