Heart Disease and African Americans

Although African American adults are 40% more likely to have high blood pressure, they are 10% less likely than their non-Hispanic White counterparts to have their blood pressure under control.

In 2009, African Americans were 30% more likely to die from heart disease, as compared to non-Hispanic white men.
African American women are 1.6 times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to have high blood pressure.

At a glance – Diagnosed Cases of Coronary Heart Disease:

**Age-adjusted percentages of coronary heart disease among persons 18 years of age and over, 2010**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
6.3	6.6	1.0

Source: CDC 2011. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2010. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_252.pdf [PDF | 1.6MB]

At a glance – Death Rate:

**Age-Adjusted Heart Disease Death Rates per 100,000 (2009)**
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	302.4	231.1	1.3
Women	195.4	142.1	1.4
Total	239.2	180.9	1.3

Source: CDC, 2012. National Vital Statistics Report. Vol. 60, Num 3 Table 17.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf [PDF | 2MB]

At a Glance – Risk Factors:

There are several risk factors related to heart disease. Some of these risk factors are:

Obesity and Overweight – See Obesity and African Americans

Hypertension

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2007-2010. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES)**
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	40.5	31.1	1.3
Women	44.3	28.1	1.6

Source: CDC 2012 Health United States, 2011. Table 70.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who have high blood pressure, 2010. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)**
African Americans	Non-Hispanic White	African Americans /Non-Hispanic White Ratio
34.1	23.9	1.4

Source: CDC 2011. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: 2010. Table 2.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_10/sr10_252.pdf [PDF | 1.6MB]

**Percent of adults age 18 and over with hypertension whose blood pressure is under control, 2005-2008**
Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
38.6	44.1	0.9

Source: 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 2_1_2.1
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr11/index.html

High Cholesterol

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 20 years of age and over who have high cholesterol, 2007-2010.**
	African American	Non-Hispanic White	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	25.4	28.1	0.9
Women	25.6	27.4	0.9

Source: CDC 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 71.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

**Adults who received a blood cholesterol measurement in the last 5 years, 2008**
African American	Non-Hispanic White	African American/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
76.9	74.1	1.0

Source: CDC 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 2_1_3.2b
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr11/index.html

Cigarette Smoking

**Age-adjusted percentage of persons 18 years of age and over who are current cigarette smokers, 2008-2010.**
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non-Hispanic White Ratio
Men	24.0	23.9	1.0
Women	17.7	20.9	0.8

Source: CDC, 2012. Health United States, 2011. Table 62.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf [PDF | 9.8MB]

**Percentage of current smokers age 18 and over with a checkup who reported receiving advice to quit smoking, 2008**
	Non-Hispanic Black	Non-Hispanic White	Non-Hispanic Black/Non- Hispanic White Ratio
Men	52.1	65.9	0.8
Women	63.7	66.1	1.0
Total	58.7	66.1	0.9

Source: 2011 National Healthcare Quality Report. Table 9_1_1.2b.
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr11/index.html

At a Glance – Treatment:

Aspirin Therapy

Percent of heart attack patients administered aspirin within 24 hours of admission, 2006*
African Americans	White	African Americans/ White Ratio
95.8	96.6	1.0

Source: 2008 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 4_2_2.1
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr08/4_heartdiseases/T4_2_2-1.htm

Beta Blockers

Percent of heart attack patients administered beta blocker within 24 hours of admission, 2006*
African Americans	White	African Americans/ White Ratio
93.0	93.4	1.0

Source: 2008 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 4_2_4.1
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr08/4_heartdiseases/T4_2_4-1.htm

**Hospital patients with heart attack who were prescribed ACE inhibitor or ARB at discharge, United States, 2009**
Black	White	Black/ White Ratio
95.2	93.1	1.0

Source: 2011 National Healthcare Disparities Report. Table 2_3_3.1
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/qrdr11/index.html

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Content Last Modified: 8/29/2012 8:50:00 AM

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