LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Disease: Risks
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Presently one in two adult women will die of cardiovascular disease. African American women have a higher mortality rate after heart attack, twice that of other women. These numbers can and should be lowered if the medical community works together to heighten the awareness of this alarming and unacceptable problem. "No longer should women, especially minority women, have to continue to receive inadequate therapy and diagnostic testing," said Patricia Davidson, MD, AMWA specialist on coronary heart disease in minorities. "AMWA urges all health care practitioners to become familiar with risk factors and clinical presentations unique to women, including minority women, and to support more gender-based research."
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"Abbott and AHA urge women to talk to their doctors about their risk of heart disease and to start taking action to lead healthier lives." Dr. Sandra Burke Director, cardiovascular biology research, Abbott Vascular
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The "Baby Steps to Heart Health" survey ... found that many African Americans still underestimate their risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Only 22 percent of the at-risk respondents surveyed believed they were personally in danger of developing heart disease and many missed the link between certain health conditions and heart disease, further highlighting the need for more education around risk factors. When asked what asked what condition put individuals at greater risk for heart disease, African American respondents answered the following:
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The risk factors for heart disease: smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, obesity, physical inactivity, and diabetes. Here's a brief, excellent overview from the National Institutes of Health. Note: clicking here will open a printable PDF document.
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The VA study is one of the largest to date to look at the potential risk of contracting this infectious disease from CJD-contaminated blood or plasma derivatives. The findings will be presented at the Ninth Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), in San Francisco, April 18-20.
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Pneumococcal disease can ... cause very serious illness in children. In fact, pneumococcal disease is the most common cause of invasive bacterial infection in American children. Children under age 2 years fall into the highest general risk group for invasive pneumococcal infections.
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