The study findings point to the need to pay attention to the diseases that raise heart disease risk and tend to accompany sudden cardiac arrest in blacks, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and kidney problems, he said.
While 33 percent of the whites in the study had diabetes, 52 percent of the blacks did. High blood pressure was a problem for 77 percent of the blacks, compared to 65 percent of the whites. Chronic kidney failure was nearly twice as likely in blacks, with 34 percent of them having the condition, the researchers found.
The study findings “fit in with the general pattern of blacks having adverse health outcomes” in relation to heart health, said Dr. Christopher Granger, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association and professor of medicine at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Granger reviewed the study’s findings, but wasn’t involved in the study.
The take-home message is clear, he said. “This is yet another set of data to reinforce the need and priority and opportunity to control risk factors in African Americans in order to reduce their consequences of cardiovascular disease.”
Learning that controlling high blood pressure may reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death may increase a patient’s motivation to work harder to do so, he suggested.
Copyright HealthDay News July 2015. All rights reserved.
There’s no sure way to know your risk of sudden cardiac arrest, BUT reducing your risk is the best strategy. Steps to take include:
- regular checkups
- screening for heart disease
- living a heart-healthy lifestyle with the following approaches:
- Don’t smoke, and use alcohol in moderation (no more than one to two drinks a day)
- Eat a nutritious, balanced diet
- Stay physically active