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THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1996
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Stroke death rate among African Americans rising
By Andrea R. Richards
THE CHARLOTTE POST
’ ithin the last 15
years, Charles
Clarkson, 52, has
had two strokes and two heart
attacks. His most recent
stroke ocurred while he was
having a heart attack last
April.
“I was laying down looking
at television,” he said. “I felt
my arm getting numb, and I
thought that I had been lay
ing on my arm too long.”
Clarkson, who also has a
history of high blood pressure,
soon recognized that he was
having a stroke. He drove
himself to the hospital only to
have the doctors send him
back home.
“Exactly 24 hours later, I
had the symptoms again, and
this time my entire left side
was incapacitated. No
motorism whatsoever.”
Strokes occur when blood
clots form in the brain,
depriving it of oxygen. It’s one
of the most common disorders
of the nervous system, and it’s
more likely to kill African
Americans.
“In African Americans, par
ticularly in people 45-59, the
death rate from stroke is four
times that in whites,” said Dr.
Lewis B. Morgenstem, an
instructor at the University of
Texas Medical
School-Houston. “Traditional
teaching is that stroke is a
disease of old white men. The
reality is that well over half of
all stroke deaths occur in
women.”
The warning signs include
sudden weakness or numb-
. ness of the face, arm or leg on
one side of the body; sudden
severe headaches with no
known cause; unexplained
dizziness; unsteadiness or
sudden falls, trouble talking,
loss of speech or understand
ing speech. Symptoms may
last just a few minutes or as
long as 24 hours.
Clarkson said he wasn’t
afraid of dying during his
strokes.
“I never let pain scare me,”
he said. “I guess that’s some
thing I learned from the
Marine Corps. I guess my
Brain Attack: Do you know that
stroke sends early warning signals^
A brain attack {a stroke} is the leading cause of adult
disability, but according to a recent survey, most
Americans can’t spot the warning signs that mean
they should seek medical attention.
KNOW THESE STROKE WARNING SIGNS —
Percent of Americans who didn’t
know each warning sign:
Sudden severe headaches
92%
Blurred vision
88%
Trouble speaking / nhd^rstahdlirig speech
87%
Dl2:2ine$$
79%
Numbness (especially on one side)
Source:
75%
1995 GallupiiSurvey for:
Bayer Corporation
An American Hlail:
Association Graphic
Vietnam experiences prepared
me not to panic in situations
like this. I didn’t feel like I
was going to die or anything.
“I’ve never seen anybody
stay here (on earth). So I fig
ure if it’s my time, then it’s
my time. That’s a feeling I
adopted in Vietnam.”
Clarkson knows that he is
destined to have another
stroke, which is the nation’s
third-leading cause of death
and the leading cause of dis
ability.
“They (the doctors) told me
it’s going to
happen
again. It’s
just a matter'
of time
because an
area’ofblopd
vessels in ,my
right frontal' '
lobe are
dead,” he
said.
The best
treatment for a stroke is pre-
Clarkson
vention, which includes con-
troling blood pressure, discon
tinuing smpking of. dnig use
and taking aspirin therapy.
Clarkson was fortunate .that
his strokes did not physically
disable him. He does his best
to take his medication, eat
projjefly and’avoid’stressful
situettioils: “First of all, I stay ■
away from, women that want
to be in control because they
don’t do nothing but tick me
off and raise my blood pres
sure.”
They (the doctors) told me it’s
going to happen again. It’s just
a matter of time because an
area of blood vessels in my
right frontal lobe are dead. ^ ^
99
Charles Clarkson
TIPS FOR A HEALTHY HEART
By George D. Wilbanks MD
Preaiderit, The American College of
Obstetrician and Gynecologists
Heart disease, a condition
that affects one in five women
over 65, is the No. 1 killer of
women. Women are about 10
times more likely to die of this
disease than of breast cancer.
Lifestyle changes are a key to.
prevention.
Cigarette smoking is the
most serious risk factor. If you
smoke, you are two to six
times more apt to suffer a’
heart attack than a nonsmok
er. This is true even with light
smoking (fewer than four cig
arettes a day) and low-nico
tine .brands. When you quit
smoking, you will immediate
ly reduce your risk of heart
disease by 30 to 50 percent,
and after two or three years
your jisk will be the same as
that Of nonsmokers.
High blood pressure, or
hypertension, is another risk
you can control. More than
half of all women over age 55
suffer from this condition. You
should have your blood pres
sure checked regularly, and if
it is elevated attempt to lower
it by losing weight, exercising
regularly and reducing your
sodium and salt intake. If
your doctor prescribes high
blood pressure medication,
keep taking it as advised even
if you feel better. Remember,
high blood pressure often has
no symptoms, which is why
it’s called the “silent killer.”
Finally, as an adult woman,
you should have your choles
terol level checked at least
every five years. Cholesterol
and fatty deposits settle on
the inner walls of blood ves
sels and restrict the flow of
blood to the heart. To lower
cholesterol, eat less red meat,
consume mainly low-fat dairy
products (such as skim milk),
and avoid fried foods and fatty
desserts in favor of whole
grains, poultry, fish beans,
and fresh fruits and vegeta
bles. Limit yoin- fat intake to
about 30 percent of your total
calories. To figure fat percent
ages, remember that one
gram of fat is approximately
nine calories, example: A 100-
calorie cracker with 2 grams
Cardiac rehabilitation beneficial for
African Americans with heart disease
See TIPS Page 14A
early 1 million
Americans sur
vive a heart
attack each
year, over 7
million live with angina or
recurring chest pains and
another 600,0.00 are recover
ing from coronary bypass
surgery or balloon angioplasty.
But new government guide
lines say that cardiac rehabili
tation services are drastically
under-used, despite the fact
that they can improve the
quality of life for people with
heart disease. According to the
guidelines, less than a third of
the 13.5 million Americans
who have coronary heart dis-
. ease are receiving cardiac
rehabilitation services in spite
of their proven benefits.
Cardiac rehabilitation ser
vices are medically-supervised
interventions aimed at limit
ing physical and other damage
from heart disease, reducing
the risk of death and helping
patients resume a normal life.
Comprehensive cardiac reha
bilitation has been shown to
reduce death rates in patients
after heart attack by as much
as 25 percent. When designed
properly, cardiac rehabilita
tion can help patients become
more active, lower blood fat
levels and manage stress bet
ter, among other positive life
changes.
These guidelines are particu
larly important for African
Americans. Approximately 36
percent of total deaths in the
African American population
are due to diseases of the heart
as a result of several prevalent
risk factors: smoking (32.9
percent in black men com
pared with 27.5 percent of all
men); hypertension (37.9 per
cent in black males and 38.6
percentin black females com
pared with 33 percent for all
males and 26.8 percent of all
females); diabetes (19 percent
in African Americans com
pared with 12 percent of the
total population) and Qbesity
(43.8 percent in black females
compared with 27.1 percent of
total U.S. female population).
The guidelines offer support,
guidance and encouragement
to help patients make healthi
er lifestyle choices. It helps
patients to understand their
condition and discover ways to
reduce their risk of heart
attack.
For example, the guidelines
state that a well-designed car
diac rehabilitation program
includes exercise training to
improve exercise tolerance and
stamina, and education and
behavioral intervention to
assist patients in achieving
and maintaining optimal
health. The guidelines also
recommend considering home-
based cardiac rehabilitation,
guided by a health care profes
sional, as an alternate
approach for lower moderate-
risk patients who cannot par
ticipate in traditional, struc
tured group cardiac rehabilita
tion, which is generally con
ducted in hospitals or other
health or community facilities.
The AHCPR patient guide
“Recovering from Heart
Problems Through Cardiac
Rehabilitation” is available
free of charge from the AHCPR
Publications Clearinghouse by
calling toll free 800-358-9295
or write: Cardiac
Rehabilitation Guideline,
AHCPR Publications
Clearinghouse, P.O. Box 8547,
Silver Spring, Md. 20907. It is
also available 24-hours-a-day,
7-days-a-week, through
AHCPR InstaFAX at 3011594-
2800.