Health

Do women of color need to worry about heart disease?

Yes. African American and Hispanic American/Latina women are more likely to get heart disease because they tend to have more risk factors such as obesity, lack of exercise, high blood pressure, and diabetes than white women. Women of color also are more likely than white women to die of heart disease. If you’re a woman of color, take steps to reduce your risk factors.

Am I at risk for diabetes?

Things that can put you at risk for diabetes include:

• Age — being older than 45
• Overweight or obesity
• Family history — having a mother, father, brother, or sister with diabetes
• Race/ethnicity — your family background is African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic American/Latino, Asian American/Pacific Islander and Native Hawaiian
• Having a baby with a birth weight more than 9 pounds
• Having diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes)
• High blood pressure — 140/90 mm HG or higher. Both numbers are important. If one or both numbers are usually high, you have high blood pressure.
• High cholesterol — total cholesterol over 240 mg/dL
• Inactivity — exercising less than 3 times a week
• Abnormal results in a prior diabetes test
• Having other health conditions that are linked to problems using insulin, like Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)
• Having a history of heart disease or stroke