This news today coupled with the news about rampant HIV infection rates in DC a few days ago tells me that there has never been a greater need for an stream of activism organic to the Black community in which we attack a prevailing threat to our lives and our livelihood.
Young African-Americans are 20 times as likely as whites to develop heart failure, according to a new study published today. The deadly illness strikes one in every 100 blacks under the age of 50.
"We usually thought of heart failure as a disease of older people, but that's based on studies by mostly white participants," said Dr. Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco and the study's lead author. "The rates we're seeing of blacks in their 30s and 40s are similar to the rates you will see of whites in their 60s and 70s."
Researchers and cardiology specialists called the findings alarming and a call to action. The scientific community should step up its research on the risk factors and design clinical trials to study specialized treatment for black patients, they said.
The findings also should come as a wake-up call to young African-Americans to eat healthier and exercise. And health officials should launch prevention and education efforts as early as high school, they said.
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