Is Cardiovascular Disease a Part of the Black Experience?

Abstract

Abstract Although the number of deaths from cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension and strokes, are generally on the decline for most racial groups, cardiovascular disease continues to be a more deadly disease for Black people. There are known clinical factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease like diabetes and obesity. But this chapter explores the social and economic determinants of health that lead to Black people’s disproportionate experiences of these clinical risks like poverty, stress from racial discrimination, and unsafe and resource-deprived neighborhoods. This chapter also explores lifestyle factors (and whether they can be considered choices) that contribute to cardiovascular disease like access to healthy foods, diet of “soul food,” and access to proper employment. Therefore, in this chapter, using Black people’s experiences with cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular health care, Black people’s poorer cardiovascular health is examined within the context of their inequitable access to social determinants of health.