Topic: Healthcare
Heavy Smokers at Higher Risk for Diabetes
African American smokers have a higher risk for diabetes A large study consisting of over five thousand African Americans found that those African Americans who smoke more than a pack of cigarettes in a day were at increased diabetes risk. …
Salt Sensitivity and Your Health
Salt Sensitivity and Your Health Salt sensitivity is defined as significant changes in blood pressure in response to salt in a diet. 75 percent of all African American patients with high blood pressure are salt sensitive compared to 50 percent…
Lactose Intolerance in African Americans
Three out of four African Americans are lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance means that if you drink milk, eat yogurt, have cheese, or any other dairy-based product in large amounts, your digestive system will have difficulty digesting it. Most people report…
Is Cholesterol Lowering Medicine Bad for You?
Many of my patients have high cholesterol and are on cholesterol lowering medicines called statins like Lipitor (atorvastatin), Zocor (simvastatin), and Crestor (rosuvastatin). Occasionally they will come in saying some well-meaning friend told them that "cholesterol medicine is bad for…
Strokes in African Americans
Strokes in African Americans Most strokes in African Americans occur due to high blood pressure and a much higher number of African Americans have uncontrolled blood pressure. A quarter of all strokes occur in the presence of atrial fibrillation (a fib)…
Heart Failure in African Americans
Heart failure in African-Americans occurs more often and is more deadly. African Americans have a significantly higher risk and earlier onset of heart failure and heart-related death compared to all other populations in the United States. In fact, African Americans are two…
Establishing Trust When Patients Distrust Doctors
Distrust Doctors ?? Multiple studies over an extended period of time confirm what most doctors and providers already knew, African Americans are more likely to distrust doctors and other healthcare providers than patients of other racial or ethnic groups. What…
Kidney Disease in African Americans
Kidney disease in African Americans is one the most dramatically different occurrences of a disease, and results in significant suffering and death. Generally, kidney disease is the result of diabetes and high blood pressure, and given the increased number of…
Atrial Fibrillation in African Americans
Atrial fibrillation in African Americans, also called "A Fib", effects one in nine before the age of 80 and is the most prevalent arrhythmia in the US and is associated with significant bad outcomes that include stroke, heart failure, and increased…
African American Healthcare Negatively Impacted by Bias-Driven Data
Hospitals across this nation use protocols and algorithms aimed at improving outcomes in their patients, but because of nuanced differences in the care of African Americans, those protocols have now been shown to negatively impact African American healthcare. A recent…
