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February marks American Heart Month, recognizing important lifestyle tips to encourage positive health outcomes, and staying alert to the many symptoms and conditions of heart disease, as it is the leading cause of death in the United States.
According to research and data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black Americans are 30% more likely to die from heart disease than their white counterparts and 40% more likely to have high blood pressure. Moreover, Black women are seemingly at greater risk for pre-symptoms of heart disease, as they are 60% more likely to have high blood pressure, compared to non-Hispanic white women.
When discussing heart health and particularly heart disease, cardiologists and health care advocates commonly underscore the dire importance of learning how to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in the event a person nearby may need the emergency lifesaving procedure. Interventional cardiologist Dr. Quinn Capers shares the value of knowing what to do amid a cardiac emergency to potentially save someone else’s life.
“I’d say in general in the United States, regardless of the race of the community, the knowledge of proper CPR is low. And that’s why for so long, the American Heart Association and other organizations have worked on trying to educate people about how to do proper CPR in the community. And the Black community is probably even lower,” Capers told The Informer. “And so [when done properly], those chest compressions [are so important]. It actually keeps the blood going to your brain and to your vital organs until the ambulance arrives, and they can take over. What also is very important is public defibrillators. It delivers a shock to the patient’s heart, it can jumpstart the heart and get it going again.”
Although some people have genetic disorders that may increase the risks of developing the illness, in many cases, underlying health conditions including diabetes and obesity, and high blood pressure, which are more prevalent in Black patients, precipitate the onset of heart disease.
The most critical factor behind heart disease is the lack of blood circulation to the heart muscle. Typically, blockage starts off as a fairly small buildup of cholesterol and white blood cells, slowly growing over the years, often taking roughly 20 to 30 years to grow. One of the most concerning threats of heart disease is mistaking the symptoms of severe heart disease for common irregularities, like with the discomfort associated with indigestion.
“I’ve got patients that have both heart disease [and indigestion]… and I’ve had some of them tell me they can’t tell the difference,” Capers said. “So, discomfort, pain, burning, squeezing pressure, tightness, anywhere in the chest area. It can be in the shoulders, it can be in the arms, it can be in the back, but if it’s a pressure, tightness, squeezing, heaviness, those are the things that make us think this could be heart pain, especially if those are associated with shortness of breath. So if you get a squeezing sensation in your chest and you find it difficult to breathe, you should [be concerned] and call 911 for that.”
Getting up and staying active is imperative to maintaining a balanced health and reducing the risk of heart disease. Taking daily walks, eating fruits and vegetables, choosing lean meats over fried foods, and limiting intake of fats and sugar are all great ways to contribute to heart health.
Love And Happiness Affect the Heart, Too
With the celebration of Valentine’s Day, there are many advertisements and discussions about love and matters of the heart. However, heart health is ultimately affected by mental and emotional health.
Studies show that married men often live longer than single men, given they have the constant care of a wife ensuring they are eating properly, and attending to their doctor’s appointments to uphold their well-being.
However, on average, married women live shorter lives than single women, often associated with carrying the load of caregiving for everyone around them, while often neglecting themselves.
“Married men live longer than single men. And we’re pretty sure that that is because your wife is usually saying to you, ‘Honey, did you make your appointment? Did you take your medicine?’ And that keeps us alive. Unfortunately, the corollary to that is that married women do not live longer than single women,” Capers said. “So I’d say to all the husbands out there, your wife is loving you and she’s keeping you alive longer, so return the favor.”
Single individuals are also carrying their own loads of stress, which experts associate with the growing epidemic of loneliness. While people become increasingly isolated, the consequences can have negative effects on mental and also cardiovascular health.
“We don’t know enough about it to know if those two are related, but we do know a few things about mental health and the heart. We know for instance, that people who suffer from depression tend to have more heart disease or worse outcomes with heart disease. People who suffer from anxiety tend to have worse outcomes with heart disease,” Capers told The Informer. “It does look like people are isolated and lonely, and this is getting to be a real epidemic in our country. They tend to have worse outcomes with heart disease as well.”
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