About two years ago I received a frightening and sobering phone call from my husband. He called to tell me that one of my childhood sisterfriends had suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized. At first I thought that perhaps he got the name mixed up or maybe it was my friend’s husband who had the heart attack. But no…. he had the correct information. It was my friend.

Well, I was at work and of course I could no longer concentrate. So I just shut my computer down and “hightailed it” on over to the hospital. I was fearful for my friend’s life and also concerned about her family and friends (including myself) if we were to lose her to this heart attack. What was so shocking is that she is fairly healthy. As far as I could tell she was not previously particularly prone to being sick. Fortunately, at the time of her attack, she was around some health care professionals who recognized she was in serious distress and they called for the paramedics. Upon her arrival at the hospital it didn’t take long for the personnel to do the necessary tests to determine what was going on. She was able to get the proper care in time to prevent more serious damage to her heart. I learned of her episode the following day after she was hospitalized. What a relief it was for me when I got to the hospital and saw her walking around with her signature “big, dimpled smile” on her face. “THANK YOU JESUS!” was my immediate thought.

She was truly blessed as it relates to recognition of her heart attack and the timeliness of her treatment; because, for women (and especially black/African-American women), that so often is NOT the case. Ann Taylor, M.D. of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland (as quoted in the book,”THE HEART OF THE MATTER”, by Hilton Hudson, II,M.D. and Herbert Stern, PH.D) states, “Black women have the highest death rate of heart disease and develop it at an earlier age than any other population in the United States.” (p. 164) Hudson and Stern also tell us, “African-American women who suffer a heart attack are one and a half times more likely to die from it than white women.” (page 165)

As a black woman, these facts resonate with me on a personal level and give me pause for concern for my health and the health of my sisters. I LOVE MYSELF and I LOVE (and need) MY SISTERS, so my question is: “What can we do to protect our hearts?” That’s your question too??? Girlfriend, I’m glad you asked! I’ll share some tips but first; here are the major risk factors that we as African-American women tend to more likely have as compared with white women: diabetes, high cholesterol, lack of exercise, and being overweight. Other risk factors include hypertension and chronic stress. Although some of these risk factors can be conditions that run in your family, they are also largely considered lifestyle related conditions as well.

So….What do we do?
1) Make the choice to Take CONTROL of your health and your life.
2) Learn what you can about heart disease.(especially as it relates to black women)
3) Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about your risk factors and how you can lower your risk of heart disease
4) If you have risk factors, understand that you have the power to make changes in the ones that are lifestyle related (YOU CAN DO THIS LADY!!!)
5) Learn to effectively deal with and manage your stress
6) Connect with people who can encourage & support you and share your interests
7) Don’t be too busy to share your concerns with your loved ones
8) Journaling is a good way to help relieve stress (I’ve started writing a gratitude journal)
9) Regularly take time to be good to yourself everyday, no matter how busy you are.

So ladies, let’s love on ourselves and take care of our hearts!

P.S. My mission with CROWN TO SOLE Wellness is to encourage, empower, and equip women to take control of their health and create lives of joy, abundance, and holistic wellness through transformational lifestyle behaviors. I help women move from surviving to THRIVING! To check my availability for scheduling your free 30 minute DISCOVERY CALL to determine if and how I can help you please CLICK HERE!

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