Heart Health: Taking a Look at a New Preventative Test for Cardiovascular Disease
Black women are disproportionately affected by heart disease. The risk factors are variable, and “Many African American women aren’t even aware that they are at risk, which is why education is so important,” says Poulina Uddin, MD, a cardiologist at Scripps Clinic. “There is a lot you can do to protect your heart.”
This includes seeing a healthcare professional regularly and keeping up with your medications. “Early intervention is possible, for example, when you know there is heart disease in your family history and can share that information with your physician,” Dr. Uddin adds.
In addition, we might also seek out new and emerging technologies that can test for contributing factors to heart disease. One such test is the coronary artery calcium test, which can provide a more precise estimate of the risk of atherosclerotic heart disease. According to the New York Times, it is a short CT scan, where the results would show whether the fatty deposits, referred to as plaque, have developed in the arteries leading to her heart.
Clots, blocking the flow of blood, can trigger heart attacks when plaque ruptures. The CT scan would help determine whether you would benefit from taking a statin. Statins reduce the already developed plaque as well as prevent more from forming.
“The test is used by more people every year,” said Dr. Michael Blaha, co-director of the preventive cardiology program at Johns Hopkins University. However, “it’s still being underused compared to its value,” he said.
The screening is intended for selected asymptomatic patients between the ages of 40 to 75, who have never had a heart attack or a stroke and are not already on cholesterol drugs. The test will help you and your doctor decide whether you should be prescribed a statin.
These types of screening are a preventative measure that requires us to take control of our health and put ourselves first. Self-care is not just girls' trips, meditation, and hot yoga--we must also evaluate our health.
This is especially important in light of the statistics that highlight our risk factors and the racism that might discourage many of us from demanding care.
According to the American Heart Association, more than half of Black women in America aged 20 and older have cardiovascular diseases and every year 50,000 will die from the disease or associated factors.
While some researchers have linked Black women’s increased risk of heart disease to genetics, being overweight, or other contributing factors such as diabetes, a 2023 Boston University-led study points to another important factor: experiences of racism, reports The Brink, Pioneering Research from Boston University.
“This is the first longitudinal evidence that perceived racism is associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease,” says Shanshan Sheehy, a BU Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine assistant professor.
“Racism has a real impact on the heart health of Black women.” Sheehy presented the findings at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle & Cardiometabolic Health Scientific Sessions 2023.
“When we think about how racism impacts our health, it’s a psychosocial stressor,” says Sheehy, who is also affiliated with the BU Slone Epidemiology Center. “It increases your blood pressure, your level of inflammation—all of these biological mechanisms increase your risk of coronary heart disease.”
“Structural racism is real—on the job, in educational circumstances, and in interactions with the criminal justice system,” says coauthor Michelle A. Albert, American Heart Association president and a University of California at San Francisco professor of medicine.
“Now, we have hard data linking it to cardiovascular outcomes, which means that we as a society need to work on the things that create the barriers that perpetuate structural racism.”
With these findings highlighting what many of us have experienced first-hand it is time we take proactive steps to seek preventative medicine as well as continue to expand our education on healthy life-style choices.
