AHA: Hispanic Heritage Month should be about cardiovascular health

The American Heart Association (AHA) is urging Hispanic families to discuss cardiovascular health this National Hispanic Heritage Month, as Hispanics are disproportionately affected by many disease risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.

More than one-third of Hispanics in the United States have cardiovascular disease (CVD), or disease of the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular disease is used as an umbrella term to describe the processes related to hardening of the arteries known as atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular diseases include heart attack, stroke, hypertension, heart failure, and irregular heartbeat.

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Hispanics experience a number of disparities when it comes to cardiovascular disease-some positive, some not so positive. For example, despite having higher risk facts for CDV, Hispanics tend to have better outcomes when it comes to strokes and heart attacks when compared to non-Hispanic whites. While this is good news, Hispanics still cannot ignore the latest data from the AHA which indicates:

• Among Mexican-American adults age 20 and older, 33.4 percent of men and 30.7 percent of women have
  CVD.

• 2.8 percent of Hispanic adults have had a stroke. Among Mexican Americans adults, 2.3 percent of men and
  1.4 percent of women have had a stroke

• Men, blacks, and Mexican Americans have higher rates of TIA ( mini-stroke) than their female and non-Hispanic
  white counterparts.

• Mexican Americans have higher cumulative incidence for ischemic stroke at younger ages but not
  at older ages.

• Mexican Americans have a higher incidence of intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage than non-Hispanic whites.

• The 2009 stroke death rate for Hispanic males was 30.9 and 28.0 for females.

• Among Mexican Americans age 20 and older: 6.7 percent of men and 5.3 percent of women have coronary heart disease; 3.6 percent of men and 1.7 percent of women have had an myocardial infarction (heart attack); 3.4 percent of men and 3.3 percent of women have angina.

While knowing the numbers is important for Hispanics, the AHA indicates knowing what to do to prevent CDV is even more important.

“Making simple changes can help you greatly reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease,” notes Paula Chavez of Union, NJ, American Heart Association spokesperson and fitness expert in a statement. “By making healthier food choices, incorporating exercise and scheduling regular check-ups with your doctor, you can be proactive in your and your family’s wellbeing. By taking control of our health today, we can live longer, stronger lives in the future.”

The AHA recommends:

Choose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.

• Eat at least two servings of fish each week.
• Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce trans-fat in your diet.
• Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol.
• Get active wherever you are.  At home, take housework to the next level to get your heart pumping. Added benefit—you’ll be done faster!  At work, take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Write down a list of questions and bring them with you to your check-up. This way you’ll have a reference and won’t forget something you were meaning to follow up on.

SEE ALSO: How to survive a heart attack when alone

And don’t forge the F.A.S.T way to identify when someone is having a stroke:

Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?

Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred? Is the person unable to speak or hard to understand? Ask the person to repeat a simple sentence, like “The sky is blue.” Is the sentence repeated correctly?

Time to call 9-1-1 – If someone shows any of these symptoms, even if the symptoms go away, call 9-1-1 and get the person to the hospital immediately. Check the time so you’ll know when the first symptoms appeared.