Dr. Mary Branch, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based cardiologist feels that it is time for African Americans to really make health a priority despite challenges, such as stress which can increase blood pressure.
According to the CDC, “heart disease is the leading cause of death for people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Hispanic, and
white men.”
Lifestyle changes, and even knowing your family history, noting if first-degree relatives such as siblings and parents had heart disease, can be useful knowledge when shared with your primary doctor, which can be helpful to support heart health goals. Dr. Branch provided additional insight into heart health.
Q: Does diet or lifestyle contribute to cardiovascular disease being a leading cause of death in the United States?
A: Absolutely. I think the issues and the diseases that we’re battling with now are those of what they call “diseases of despair” [obesity, anxiety, depression, drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide] and diseases of just being in a society where a lot of folks are sedentary. There’s not really a focus on eating healthy and exercise.
Q: Does diet impact heart health?
A: Diet is extraordinarily important. One, because you can increase your risk of bad plaque [LDL] by eating red meat. If you eat more salt, (some folks might be more salt sensitive), that increases your blood pressure. If you have heart failure, more salt can mean you are holding onto more water. Your heart is a pump that can back up. You can get shortness of breath and more complications from heart failure. So, diet is extremely important because it can help prevent obesity by not only eating the right foods, but also the right proportions. The American College of Cardiology and The American Heart Association recommend a Mediterranean diet consisting of lean meat, vegetables and focus more on proteins and vegetables, less so on sugar. Doing those things on a consistent basis prevents obesity and can help prevent a heart attack and buildup of plaque.
Q: Some people were raised eating a lot of fried, fatty foods. Do you have any opinions about eating this way?
A: I talked about this a lot. It’s tough in the African American community. You don’t want to take away our culture, but some of our culture came to be because we were just trying to survive and eating the food that was left over. That was 300 some years ago. I hope that we can get to a point where we’re no longer in this sort of survival mentality.
I think that may mean a change in how we eat. That doesn’t mean that you can never have fried chicken…, but certainly, you want to limit it and don’t make a habit of it. It’s your habits that dictate your health. So, if you want to eat fried chicken after church on Sunday, great. Have one [piece] where you have the skin and one with the one skin off. Be mindful of having too much sodium and cut back on meats. If it’s going to be fried, limit the proportions. So, some things I recommend are apps like Noom or Weight Watchers. You plug in what you’re eating. People like to collect their own data. I think that data trackers help.
Q: How can smoking impact a person’s vascular system or health?
A: Smoking is the worst thing you can do for your health. It’s just not worth it. Do things that are healthier. Data shows that if you smoke, you’re at higher risk of a heart attack and stroke and vessel disease in the legs. People get their legs amputated. Typically, we will see this in an everyday smoker of 20 or 30 years.
Q: Does doing cardio as a habit help heart health?
A: The American Association recommends 150 minutes of, moderate exercise a week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, but it can be very daunting if you were not an athlete when you were younger. Even taking 4000 steps a day can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. So, I always say something is better than nothing. If you can do five minutes a day of just trying to sweat it out, that’s awesome. Then, two weeks later, try to do seven minutes. Then, do 10 minutes. You might really start to enjoy it. Compounded, consistent and good habits are the keys to keeping healthy.
Dr. Branch is a fourth-generation African American doctor. Learn more about her via https://www.instagram.com/bipocdoc/.