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Left to right: Earl Woods and
Maynard Jackson both died from cardiovascular
disease
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In addition
to Earl Woods (Tiger Woods’ father) who never met his
beautiful grand daughter, in just the last few years,
the lives of several other celebrities have been cut
short by a preventable disease: Maynard Jackson at 65,
Richard Pryor at 65, Reggie White at 43, Yolanda King at
51, Luther Vandross at 54, Gerald Levert at 40, Billy
Preston at 59, Kirby Puckett at 45, Ronald Winans at 48,
and Paul Winfield at 62. They all died from
cardiovascular disease (CVD). These include heart
attack (myocardial infarction), brain attack (stroke),
and heart failure (weak heart muscle).
Unfortunately, all our families have tasted the bitter
fruit of a loved one leaving us too soon due to
CVD.
We should be outraged that this
disease kills and cripples 50% of our grandparents and
is allowed to devastate our community as a “silent”
killer. While CVD is the number one cause of death in
the world, it is particularly devastating to African
American communities. Each day, 252 African
Americans die from CVD. Health disparities are
present for African Americans regardless of
socioeconomic status.
Children
deserve to know their grandparents so that they can become
GREAT grandparents. If we are ever going
to solve our social problems (juvenile delinquency,
unplanned teenage pregnancies, underachievement and
unhealthy habits) we need more grandparents in our
communities. Sociologist Jonathan Crane observed that it
only takes a very few role models to have a good effect
on the whole neighborhood, but without a critical mass
of role models, a community will predictably “tip” very
quickly in a bad direction. A
child is only a grandparent away from growing up to be a
healthy, happy, contributing member of society.
Other children take for granted that they will grow up
knowing the nurturing and wisdom of their grandparents,
and even their great grandparents, but, due to CVD,
African American children are fortunate if they have one
grandparent (almost always a grandmother) by the time
they graduate from high school. Who will pass on
our legacy to our youth? An African proverb says:
When a grandparent dies, an entire library goes up in
flames.
While CVD
has been viewed as unavoidable in the past, we can now
shout from the rooftops that CVD is, in fact,
preventable. Dieing from a heart attack or
stroke is no longer a fact of life that we have to
accept.
We are encouraged by
the fact that only 50 years ago it was common to lose
some or all of our teeth. But the solution ended up
being remarkably simple. With good science to
guide us, we fluoridated our drinking water and promoted
preventive check-ups with dentists. Most importantly, we
took a campaign into the schools encouraging children to
take personal responsibility for their own dental health
by brushing and flossing. As a result, there are
toothbrushes in every bathroom, none of our children
(between 15 and 40 years of age), has ever had a
toothache and 90% of Americans born in the last 40 years
will live to old age with the same set of teeth. Most of
us did not even take notice of this marvelous
achievement. Can we do the same for
CVD?
We implore
you to adopt these Seven Steps to Good
Health. (Genes play a very small role in
CVD)
1.
Be spiritually active. According to a study
from the University of
Texas (Dr. Robert
Hummer), African Americans who go to church regularly,
live 14 years longer than African Americans who do not
go to church. Apparently, the fellowship, good
will, meditation, inspirational words and singing
together increase our ability to cope. According to Dr.
Malcolm Taylor: “If you have God, family and
friends, you may stumble, but you will never hit the
ground.” If you are stressed, you
cannot sleep, love, focus, solve problems, and
rejuvenate. The mess we call stress must be
addressed. We are at our best when we are healthy,
happy and doing well.
2.
Take charge of your blood pressure. Despite steady
progress over the past thirty three years, uncontrolled
high blood pressure is projected to increase by 60% over
the next twenty years. Tell your doctor you want to keep
your blood pressure as close to goal (120/80mm Hg) as
possible.
3.
Control your cholesterol.
Keep your HDL high (>50), and your LDL low (<70),
and total cholesterol low (<200). High cholesterol
leads to plaque, which restricts the flow of blood.
Diet, exercise, and statin therapy are the keys to
maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
4.
Track your blood sugar and maintain ideal
weight. Obesity and diabetes track each
other. As the rate of obesity goes up, so does
diabetes. If you are overweight, you run a high
risk of developing diabetes which increases your risk of
heart attacks, strokes, blindness, amputations and
impotence. One out of three children born after 2,000
will develop diabetes in their lifetime. This
trend can be reversed, but it is going to require a
radical new way of thinking about food. Why must
sugar and fats accompany every expression of love and
every celebration? We have gone from four feasts
per year to 365. There are 54 million pre-diabetics and
21 million diabetics in the
United
States. By
reducing obesity we are taking a swing at diabetes.
Fasting plasma glucose should be <75 and hemoglobin
A1C should be <7. The care for patients who
have diabetes cost $130 billion per year and three out
of four diabetics will die from heart disease and
stroke. If
you have the following symptoms, you should consult a
doctor:
Fatigue, blurred vision, excessive thirst,
frequent urination, unexplained weight loss and
non-healing wounds and sores. These may indicate that you have
diabetes.
5.
Enjoy regular exercise (30 minutes per day-every
day), follow a sensible diet and get a good night’s
sleep! Move those muscles.
Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, reduce
fats and sugars, but most of all, eat less. Every
little bit you do can ether help or hurt your health a
little bit. Twenty years ago, 50% of
children walked or rode bicycles to school. In 2007,
that was reduced to one percent and only 8% of
elementary school children get regular exercise.
Don’t be a fat maker by insisting that others eat
more of what they do not need and resist being a victim
of a fat maker also. Let’s be more creative about
demonstrating love for each other than to force feed the
ones you most care about. If you don’t sleep well, get a
sleep study and then follow your doctor’s advice. Sleep
apnea, a significant contributor to hypertension and
heart disease, is more common among African Americans
and particularly those who are obese.
6.
Don’t smoke. Nobody argues with this any more: not
even smokers. Smoking constricts the arteries,
increases carbon monoxide in the body, lowers the good
cholesterol, makes a chimney of your nose and is the
primary cause of lung cancer. Smoking is our most
preventable cause of premature death, killing 440,000
American citizens each year and costs $75 billion for
direct medical care.
7.
Access better health care, get a check up and
faithfully take your medication as prescribed. It is no longer
acceptable for the most vulnerable among us to receive
the worst care. The health care system treats people
differently based on income and ethnicity. Just
because some of us are poor does not mean that we should
be relegated to poor care. All members of society
deserve to receive respectful, culturally competent
health care. If you are dissatisfied with the care
that you are receiving, then seek care elsewhere. More
importantly, it does no good for you to be evaluated by
a physician, have your condition diagnosed and
medication prescribed if you do not then fill the
prescription and take it as directed. If you
cannot afford the cost of your prescription, your doctor
can help you get these medicines free or almost
free.
According to
Dr. Martin Luther King: “Progress is neither
accidental or inevitable.” It requires the effort of
dedicated individuals like you. Please join the ABC and
help to stop the thief that robs our children of the
nurturing and love of their grandparents. Most of
all, you should plan to leave later. Turn the page right now to a healthy
lifestyle and a healthier community. If you are
not at the table; you are on the
menu.
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Dr.
B. Waine Kong, PhD., J.D.
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Contributing
to the ABC is a good investment. Contribute generously
by making a tax deductible donation in any amount and/or
paying dues of just $35.00 per year. You will be
designated as a “Community Health Advocate” (CHA) and
benefit from the tremendous programs and publications
offered by the ABC. Learn more about us and how
you can help, call 800-753-9222 and ask for member
services or online at www.abcardio.org.
