TY - JOUR
T1 - Cardiovascular Health in African Americans
T2 - A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
AU - American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young; Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Functional Genomics and Translational Biology; and
AU - Carnethon, Mercedes R.
AU - Pu, Jia
AU - Howard, George
AU - Albert, Michelle A.
AU - Anderson, Cheryl A.M.
AU - Bertoni, Alain G.
AU - Mujahid, Mahasin S.
AU - Palaniappan, Latha
AU - Taylor, Herman A.
AU - Willis, Monte
AU - Yancy, Clyde W.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.
PY - 2017/11/21
Y1 - 2017/11/21
N2 - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Population-wide reductions in cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality have not been shared equally by African Americans. The burden of cardiovascular disease in the African American community remains high and is a primary cause of disparities in life expectancy between African Americans and whites. The objectives of the present scientific statement are to describe cardiovascular health in African Americans and to highlight unique considerations for disease prevention and management.METHOD: The primary sources of information were identified with PubMed/Medline and online sources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RESULTS: The higher prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (eg, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk) underlies the relatively earlier age of onset of cardiovascular diseases among African Americans. Hypertension in particular is highly prevalent among African Americans and contributes directly to the notable disparities in stroke, heart failure, and peripheral artery disease among African Americans. Despite the availability of effective pharmacotherapies and indications for some tailored pharmacotherapies for African Americans (eg, heart failure medications), disease management is less effective among African Americans, yielding higher mortality. Explanations for these persistent disparities in cardiovascular disease are multifactorial and span from the individual level to the social environment.CONCLUSIONS: The strategies needed to promote equity in the cardiovascular health of African Americans require input from a broad set of stakeholders, including clinicians and researchers from across multiple disciplines.
AB - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Population-wide reductions in cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality have not been shared equally by African Americans. The burden of cardiovascular disease in the African American community remains high and is a primary cause of disparities in life expectancy between African Americans and whites. The objectives of the present scientific statement are to describe cardiovascular health in African Americans and to highlight unique considerations for disease prevention and management.METHOD: The primary sources of information were identified with PubMed/Medline and online sources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.RESULTS: The higher prevalence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors (eg, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular risk) underlies the relatively earlier age of onset of cardiovascular diseases among African Americans. Hypertension in particular is highly prevalent among African Americans and contributes directly to the notable disparities in stroke, heart failure, and peripheral artery disease among African Americans. Despite the availability of effective pharmacotherapies and indications for some tailored pharmacotherapies for African Americans (eg, heart failure medications), disease management is less effective among African Americans, yielding higher mortality. Explanations for these persistent disparities in cardiovascular disease are multifactorial and span from the individual level to the social environment.CONCLUSIONS: The strategies needed to promote equity in the cardiovascular health of African Americans require input from a broad set of stakeholders, including clinicians and researchers from across multiple disciplines.
KW - AHA Scientific Statements
KW - African Americans
KW - cardiovascular diseases
KW - disease management
KW - prevention and control
KW - risk factors
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U2 - 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000534
DO - 10.1161/CIR.0000000000000534
M3 - Review article
C2 - 29061565
AN - SCOPUS:85036555010
SN - 0009-7322
VL - 136
SP - e393-e423
JO - Circulation
JF - Circulation
IS - 21
ER -
