Did you know?

Hey Ladies, Check on your Sis.

1 in every 2 Black Women has some form of Heart Disease.

Close to half of these women are unaware that they have heart disease.

Heart Disease includes High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Stroke and Angina. So what can we do to help support Black Women?

If you’re a healthcare professional, listen to the concerns of your patients and act on them by creating a healthcare plan to help manage and treat their disease.

If that means referring out to a specialist, let’s do it. Because of the deep rooted mistrust that African Americans have with the medical community, it’s imperative that we as practitioners work on ourselves to remove any implicit bias that might be in play.

As a medical community, we HAVE to step up and show up for Black Women.

As an African American woman and consumer, look below for some ways to adjust your everyday regimen to decrease your chances of experiencing a negative health outcome secondary to Heart Disease.

❤️Get more sleep. Sleep helps to reset your nervous system and support your parasympathetic nervous system, which has a calming effect on your cardiovascular system.

❤️Move your body at least 30 minutes, 5 times per week. Exercising helps you maintain a healthier weight and reduce the likelihood of strokes and heart attacks.

❤️Quit smoking. Enroll in a smoking cessation program to help you kick this nasty habit. Smoking more than doubles your chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

❤️Acupuncture can help reduce and manage stress more efficiently. If you have an acupuncturist nearby, schedule some time to discuss with them how acupuncture can be helpful for you. If you’re in RVA, let’s chat more about the benefits of acupuncture and heart health.

❤️If you have diabetes, be sure to manage your blood sugar. Prolonged duration of elevated blood sugar levels damages your blood vessels and increases your chances of Heart Disease and Stroke.

❤️Lastly, do your best to consume a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables. Processed foods that are high in sodium and refined sugar wreck havoc on the cardiovascular system.