As Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month gets underway, a new American Heart Association report is underscoring serious cardiovascular health risks facing Hispanic adults across the United States.
Released this week, the report finds that cardiovascular disease has become the leading cause of death among Hispanic adults. Researchers cite an interconnected range of social, financial and environmental obstacles behind the disparity, from gaps in health insurance and food insecurity to language barriers.
Only one in five Hispanic adults in the U.S. meets the standard for ideal heart health, according to the American Heart Association.
“It is unfortunately not surprising,” said Dr. Amol Bahekar, an interventional cardiologist who has treated patients in the Sandhills community for nearly 14 years. He said the report mirrors the health trends he routinely encounters in his practice.
“There is unfortunately a high proportion of obesity in the Hispanic population. A large proportion of these patients tend to be diabetic, and a large proportion of these patients tend to be hypertensive,” Bahekar said.
Although there is no one-size-fits-all answer for Hispanic communities, Bahekar said modest changes in daily habits can still deliver meaningful benefits for heart health.
“Control the portion and control the amount of sodium in your diet. Any added amount of salt can contribute to high blood pressure eventually, and then can lead to heart disease,” Bahekar said.
The report stressed that the barriers to better cardiovascular health reach well beyond a doctor’s office.
Francisco Almodovar, a veteran who had triple-bypass surgery eight years ago, knows those obstacles firsthand.
“I was in denial when it happened to me. There’s no way this could be happening to me. I am in great shape,” Almodovar said.
“You hear the doctor tell you what they’re going to do, you know, cut you open and all that. You don’t really comprehend that at first. So finally sunk in, I was a little nervous, terrified,” he said.
Today, Almodovar is part of Mended Hearts of Fayetteville in North Carolina, a support group for heart patients and their families. He often helps bridge the language gap for Spanish-speaking patients.
“They’ll mention it or their loved one, whoever happens to be in the room, they don’t speak English. So I ask them, you know, they speak Spanish and they say, yeah, so we just go down that road and you know, I just talk to them,” he said.
Brenda Berkstresser, treasurer of Mended Hearts, Chapter 400 in Fayetteville, said the support group offers vital connection and firsthand experience for patients and families.
“You must be a heart patient of any kind to be a visitor. And we visit patients. We visit their families in the waiting room. In 2006, when I had my open-heart surgery, I thought I was the only person in Fayetteville with heart disease. You never heard anybody speak of it? We talk to people 1 to 1, and they see that they’re not the only people with this heart disease. They find out things that may be, you know, since their doctors and nurses do not have heart disease, things that don’t occur to them,” Berkstresser said.
The American Heart Association’s findings highlight the need for greater awareness and resource access in Hispanic communities.
“A lot of the Hispanic patient population don’t have awareness of their heart and or heart disease and health conditions, they do not have access to healthcare that they deserve,” Bahekar said.
Almodovar added, “The more information you have, the better your quality of life going forward can be.”
As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, advocates hope increased attention will help drive solutions to improve heart health outcomes for Hispanic families across the country.
Resources
Mended Hearts HeartGuide in English
Mended Hearts HeartGuide in Spanish
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