There are many health concerns that plague African-Americans. One of these, Cardiometabolic Disease, can result from having two or more of the following health issues:
- High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Obesity
- Waist measurement over 35 inches for woman; 40 for men
- Diabetes
If this disorder is present, the person may have a heightened risk of having a heart attack or stroke.
In an effort to build awareness of and perform testing to determine its presence, our Cardiometabolic Disease initiative offers individuals an opportunity to learn about the disorder during our education session and then get tested to determine their levels of each. This test consists of: height, blood pressure, weight, waist measurement and a blood sample. Within 14 days of the test, results can be obtained along with a resulting cardiac risk age. The cardiac risk age provides a sense of how well the person has taken care of themselves and yield an age that more closely matches their level of care. For instance, if the person is actually 60 years of age and taken care with proper nutrition and exercise, and let's not forget stress management, they may have a resulting cardiac risk age of 45...several years younger than their actual age. And, the reverse is very possible if the person has taken less care with nutrition, diet and stress management.
With the cardiac risk age in hand, along with the corresponding blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes levels, the person should be lead to seriously consider making lifestyle adjustments to improve their health. And since change is the key, armed with the information provided by the test, African-Americans can look to extend their lives by many years.
