Why We Can’t Ignore Heart Disease in Hispanics

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Cancer recently passed heart disease as the top killer of Latinos.

But heart disease shouldn’t be ignored.

Culturally appropriate health promotion, prevention and treatment is vital to saving lives and preserving Latino families, said Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer for the American Heart Association, in a Huffington Post article.

The article lists several reasons for concern:

• Preschool-age Hispanic children are four times more likely to be obese compared to non-Hispanic white children. These children are more likely to develop heart disease and diabetes as young adults.
• Hispanic youths have higher smoking rates—28 percent of Hispanic eighth graders smoke compared to 23.7 percent of non-Hispanic white children. Smoking is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States.
• Roughly two out of three Hispanics have uncontrolled high blood pressure, often called the “silent killer.” Left untreated, it can cause serious damage to the arteries, heart and other organs.
• Hispanics are twice more likely to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites. Left untreated, Type 2 diabetes can cause serious problems, including cardiovascular and life-threatening kidney disease. Where you find diabetes in Hispanics, you will find heart disease.
• Mexican-Americans are more likely to be hospitalized for a heart attack compared to non-Hispanic whites. And they’re twice as likely to have an ischemic stroke (caused by narrowed arteries) before 60 compared to non-Hispanic whites.

Sanchez urges people to start getting healthy with Life’s Simple 7 (in English or Spanish), which outlines seven important behaviors and factors that can improve heart health, and cultural competency for health care providers and researchers.

“We must do this for the young and the old—the abuelitas and abuelitos, the preschoolers and everyone in-between,” he states in the article “Only then can we help keep them healthy for many more years to come.”