Title: Why 7 Deadly Diseases Strike Blacks Most
Headings: Why 7 Deadly Diseases Strike Blacks Most
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Why 7 Deadly Diseases Strike Blacks Most
Health care disparities heighten disease differences between African-Americans and white Americans.

Content: Even within HMOs, Graham says, blacks get specialist referrals less often than whites. "I wonder if minority populations put as much pressure on their doctors to get specialty referrals," says Graham, who works to empower black community groups to know what they should expect from their health care. " And there may be more insidious, darker reasons why doctors are less likely to refer African-American patients. But as a specialist myself, I know that patients who get to see me have gone to their doctors and said, 'This isn't working.'" African-Americans and Heart Disease, Stroke
Heart disease and stroke disproportionately affect African-Americans. Why? "What sets the stage for the more aggressive and higher incidence of heart disease in African-Americans is a very high incidence of high blood pressure ," Yancy says. " This predisposes African-Americans to more heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. And heart failure -- an African-American is much more likely to get there with an absence of previous heart disease. That is most important.