BLACK HISTORY
Structural racism
is a driver of
health disparities
This February, during
Black History
Month, the American
Heart Association
is encouraging Black
women to Reclaim Your
Rhythm and take control
of their mental and physical
well-being.
For years we’ve been
striving to ensure everyone
has an optimal,
just opportunity to be
healthy. But this is not
the reality for many
people of color and others
whose health suffers
because of social factors
beyond their control.
In fact, in New York
City, people in some under
resourced ZIP codes have shorter
life expectancies than their neighbors
just a few miles away. And around the
country, people in often-remote rural
areas face signifi cantly higher death
rates from heart disease and stroke.
COVID-19 has illuminated these unacceptable
health disparities and worsened
the problems. The pandemic and
economic hardships have disproportionately
harmed the health of Black,
Latino and Native American people.
The nation’s history of structural racism
must be acknowledged as a driver of
health problems and shortened lives for
Black people and other racial and ethnic
groups, says an American Heart Association
report that seeks to spark action to
fi x the problem.
The idea that racism adversely affects
an individual’s health is not new, said
Dr. Keith Churchwell, president of Yale
New Haven Hospital, who led the writing
group for the advisory. For example,
racism has been shown to lead to stress,
depression and long-lasting, cumulative
damage to the body and brain.
“Structural racism has been and remains
a fundamental cause of persistent
health disparities in the United States,”
declares the presidential advisory. It offers
a summary of the historical context
of structural discrimination, connects it
to current health disparities and looks
for ways to dismantle or mitigate its |
continuing effects.
Structural racism refers to “the ways
in which society is set up in such a way
PHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
that advantages and opportunities are
preferentially given to those of one race
rather than to another,” said co-author
Dr. Mitchell Elkind, immediate past
president of the American Heart Association
for 2021-22, a neurologist at New
York-Presbyterian/Columbia University
Irving Medical Center in New York City.
“We have to change the underlying structure
that allows that to happen.”
We know things like high blood
pressure, diabetes and smoking lead
to cardiovascular disease, Elkind said.
And higher rates of those problems in
some groups lead to health disparities.
For example, Black people in the United
States are much more likely to die
from heart disease or stroke than their
white counterparts.
Structural racism is “an important,
fundamental driver” of such differences,
he said. Which means doctors, scientists,
policymakers and others have a role in
addressing it.
The American Heart Association is
committed to advancing health equity –
which can exist only when all people can
have the opportunity to enjoy healthier
lives. We’re removing barriers to health
through work in communities, scientifi c
research, advocating for healthy policies
and more. Please join us on this critical
journey.
For information about the American
Heart Association’s commitment
to health equity please visit
heart.org/healthequity
Courtesy American Heart Association
THANK YOU TO OUR
NYC WOMAN OF IMPACT
CLASS OF 2022
The American Heart Association’s Woman of
Impact campaign brings together passionate
groups of women across the nation, dedicated to
improving the state of women’s health by raising
awareness and funds for Go Red for Women®.
Aghavny Andrea Jeknavorian,
PharmD, RPh
Field Medical Director,
Rare Disease Endocrine
Pfizer
Kimberly Lovejoy
Associate, Private
Wealth Solutions
Blackstone
Vivian Armstrong
Vice President,
Head of Corporate Technology
New York Life
Kangela Moore
Business Agent
Teamsters Local 237,
New York
Keeana Ross, PharmD, MBA
Medical Affairs
Postdoctoral Fellow,
Rare Disease
Pfizer
Sophia Wagner
Senior Manager,
Strategy and Transactions
EY
16 February 17, 2022 Schneps Media
/healthequity
