Stroke Hospitalization Rate Increases For African-Americans

A new study by American Heart Association gives information about the skyrocketing rate of stroke hospitalizations among African-Americans.

According to the report, the overall rate, at which people are being hospitalized for ischemic strokes, that are caused by artery blockages, has significantly dropped by 18.4 percent over a ten-year survey from 2000 to 2010.  Unfortunately, the trend doesn’t apply to black Americans.

Lucas Ramirez, a neurology resident at Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California in Los Angeles said, “Overall, the hospitalization rate is down, with the greatest drop in people aged 65 and older. We can’t say from this study design what factors have led to this decline, but it may be that preventive efforts, such as better blood pressure and blood sugar control, are having the effect that we want in this age group.”

The report revealed that the ischemic stroke hospitalization rate lessened in both whites – by 12.4 percent and Hispanics – by 21.7 percent, but increased by 13.7 percent in blacks.

Ramirez noted that, “African Americans already had the highest rate of stroke hospitalizations and it has unfortunately increased. This reinforces that we need to make sure that our efforts for stroke prevention and education reach all groups.”

One of the reasons of such rapid increase in stroke hospitalization and other major health problems for black Americans is racial inequality. The growth also shows that the government doesn’t really care about black people as to whether they are living in healthy environment or not.

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