“A Couple of Silent Killers”

If all the new HIV cases and senseless shootings were to cease, Black people would still be doomed.  As long as diabetes, often called “sugar,” and high-blood pressure, also known as Hypertension, are still prevalent in the Black community, we will continue to meet our maker faster than any other ethnic group.


       Blacks make up only 15% of the American population and it seems as though when it comes to health, we might have the most to worry about.  Blacks are facing the most chronic illnesses and it’s at an all time high.  I contribute many of the health issues in the Black community to obesity, predisposed conditions, a lack of awareness and also a lack of healthcare. 

It is believed that one out of every two Black babies born in America will develop type 2 diabetes. Blacks are twice as likely as Whites to have a run-in with diabetes.  In the United States today, 1 in 7 Blacks are actually are aware that they have the disease.  Who knows how many people are unknowingly living with the ailment. Many people are unaware that diabetes places them on Death Avenue even when treated.   

“We're seeing shortening of life spans, people are dying earlier from heart disease, strokes," says Dr. Duane Smoot, chair of the medical department at the Howard University Hospital.  Diabetes affects the blood vessels and cause hardening of the arteries more frequently which makes it difficult to age.  Dr. Smoot says, “We have very firm data that tells us that diabetes itself had reached epidemic proportions in this nation as a whole, but more specifically in the African-American community."

According to the Department of Health and Human Services, four out of five Black women are overweight or obese. Black women have the highest rates of being overweight in America. Dr. Joyce Richey, diabetes researcher and assistant professor at the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California says, "Obesity and diabetes go hand in hand. The obesity issue is the trigger and we have a genetic background that sets off that trigger.  The result is a diabetes epidemic.  When you become obese, you become less responsive to the insulin that your body is putting out."  A study done by the department of Health and Human Services proves from 2003-2006, Black women were 70% more likely to be obese than White women.  With these numbers, like HIV, diabetes will too become a Black woman’s disease.

There is another “silent killer” on the loose in the Black community and it is high blood pressure.  It is known to affect many organs without a mere sign or symptom.  Just like diabetes, high blood pressure causes heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and vision problems.  It will have you knocking on heaven’s door if gone untreated.  Blacks with high blood pressure have an 80% higher chance of dying from a stroke than in the general population.

According to the American Heart Association in order to reduce your risk for heart attacks you must not use tobacco, be physically active, eat healthy foods, watch your weight and avoid excessive alcohol, have regular checkups, control your cholesterol, and keep your diabetes in check.  Those rules don’t sound too bad until you realize most Blacks in America are living in poverty and many consume tobacco products and eat off the dollar menu at their local fast food restaurant.  Blacks are three times as likely to live below poverty.  If one can barely eat, I doubt if they will be paying a visit to a doctor.  The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation says uninsured African Americans are much less likely to have seen a physician over the course of a year compared to those with private or Medicaid coverage.

The stress that comes along with worrying how you’re going to eat dinner might contribute to the fact hypertension developing earlier and blood pressures being higher in Blacks.  Hypertension is accredited for 20% of African American deaths in the US which is twice as high the percentage among Whites.

35% of African Americans have hypertension. According to the American Heart Association, within the African-American community, the majority of the people with the highest rates of hypertension are middle aged or older, less educated, overweight or obese, physically inactive, and have diabetes.  The AHA also says Non-Hispanic blacks are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure than whites.

“People die of heart attacks and strokes because diabetes. It is one of the more under listed causes of death of all causes... With the trend line that we're on, it's a terrible epidemic," says Dr. Wayman Wendell Cheatam medical director at the Medstar Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Blacks in America might stand a chance if they only they had access to a little healthcare. Thanks to Obama and Nancy Pelosi fighting for healthcare, some Blacks will live longer.  With the opportunity for health services, many misfortunes and disparities can be avoided. The Kaiser Foundation also found 20% of school-age Black children and 10% of younger children have not seen a physician even once in the past year. 

Standard check-ups are needed to evaluate a child’s social and physical development.  There’s no telling how many minor issues have become major issues because something has gone untreated.  The poor babies are already headed down a terrible path.  If a child grows up never visiting a doctor, he or she will think nothing of healthcare.  As an adult the child will think nothing of an insurance policy.  

As long as Blacks continue to live in poverty with incomes below 200% of poverty, there’s no telling what’s going to happen if Obamacare is repealed. Diabetes and high blood pressure are chronic diseases that require daily medication. Nothing more than the worst will occur if it goes untreated.