Health hot line

Ebony, July, 2004

Heart Disease

CORONARY heart disease is still America's No. 1 killer, and it's a condition that continues to hit the Black community especially hard. More specifically, doctors say, is the fact that not only are Black women with heart disease at higher risk for heart attack or death, but they are also being seriously undertreated when compared to White women. One study indicates that Black women are twice as likely as White women to have heart attacks or die. There have been similar studies indicating almost identical results among Black men.

Doctors say Black women and Black men are less likely to receive aspirin or medications to lower cholesterol or blood pressure, two primary conditions associated with heart disease. The American Heart Association and other health organizations say all--but especially certain groups--need to be aware of their risk for heart disease so they can be more proactive, which will allow them to be treated more aggressively and control their risk factors.

While there are continuous research studies that focus on the mystery of heart disease, medical experts continue to stress the importance of prevention, and that includes proper diet, regular exercise and routine checkups. In regard to diet, doctors still tout the benefits of a diet that includes cold-water fish (such as salmon, mackerel and herring). Several studies have shown that a diet rich in fatty fish or use of fish-oil supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids can contribute to a healthier heart.

In one apparent breakthrough, researchers recently revealed that there could be a connection between fish oil and the prevention of arrhythmias, the quickening of the heart that could lead to cardiac arrest and death. The American Heart Association recommends that people eat at least two servings of fish a week, and medical findings indicate that certain other foods are especially heart-healthy. For instance, broccoli and broccoli sprouts are among a group of plant-based foods that apparently raise the body's antioxidant defense systems and lessen risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer.

When it comes to heart disease, doctors say, like other medical conditions, prevention is the best cure.

Prostate Cancer

OTHER than skin cancer, no cancer so disproportionately affects Black men as much as prostate cancer. Striking Brothers of all socioeconomic levels and educational backgrounds at a 50 percent higher rate than White men, prostate cancer among Black males, according to the National Cancer Institute, is almost at "epidemic" levels. In fact, the prostate cancer rate for African-American men is the highest in the world. In recent years, the likes of Nelson Mandela, Harry Belafonte, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Sidney Poitier, Dr. Louis Sullivan, Dr. Benjamin Carson and Ambassador Andrew Young have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. And earlier this year, Black Enterprise Founder and Publisher Earl G. Graves St. revealed he had the disease.

Prostate cancer may have no symptoms, so routine testing is important for men over 40. Treatments for prostate cancer include surgery and external beam radiation therapy. Surgeons at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C., have successfully implanted high-dose radioactive seeds into the prostate, while doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit are using a robot equipped with a 3-D camera to perform prostate surgery. Graves received a new nerve-sparing procedure at Johns Hopkins University's urological institute that allows for prostate removal with the preservation of sexual potency and continence. And researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago are testing a vaccine that prompts the patient's immune system to attack only the prostate-cancer cells.

Dr. Terry Mason, author of the forthcoming book Prostate Cancer: A Conversation With Dr. Terry Mason-What You Need to Understand, and other experts say there is evidence that diet may be related to prostate cancer risk.

Prostate cancer accounts for 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed among Black men, and it is more likely to kill them than any other cancer. It is estimated that about 1 in 5 Black men will develop prostate cancer sometime during his life. One in 22 Black men will die of prostate cancer, with the mortality rates among Blacks being twice as high as that for Whites. and this rate is increasing almost 2 percent a year, according to medical experts.

Diabetes

MORE than 18 million people--3 million Blacks--have diabetes. In the last30 years, the rate among African-Americans has tripled, with Blacks now twice as likely to have diabetes as Whites. Left untreated, diabetes can often lead to numbness of feet, loss of eyesight, nerve damage, heart disease and even death. In order to control the condition, diabetics often must take insulin injections twice daily and monitor their blood sugar levels closely. But within the past few years, promising treatments have been developed, offering the hope of eliminating insulin injections altogether.

One treatment is stem-cell therapy. Still in the development stage, clinical evidence has shown that injecting stem cells with proteins can in fact trigger an insulin response. While these studies have yet to be tested on humans, the belief is that within 5 years, diabetes can be controlled and in some cases totally "cured." Inhaled insulin is also a treatment that offers relief from daily injections. It is administered by breathing in a dry powdered form of the drug using an apparatus similar to an asthma inhaler. The insulin goes directly into the lungs, and then is distributed into the bloodstream.