Member News
23rd January 2013People from particular ethnic groups suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease according to the British Heart Foundation.
People from particular ethnic groups suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease (CVD) - all the diseases of the heart and circulation including coronary heart disease (angina and heart attack), and stroke. While there has been great progress in reducing the number of premature deaths from CVD in the last ten years, this has not been felt equally by all groups in the population.
For people in some South Asian groups in the UK the risk of dying early from coronary heart disease (CHD) could be twice as high than the general population. They also have an increased risk of stroke and are particularly prone to metabolic syndrome. African Caribbean communities are twice as likely to have a stroke as people of European origin and have a greater risk of hypertension.
At the British Heart Foundationwe are concerned that:
• 1 in 4 African Caribbean adults are unaware they’re at higher risk of high blood pressure and diabetes
• 40% of UK Asians are unaware their ethnicity raises their risk of diabetes
We know that it is vital that awareness is raised of the causes and risks associated with heart disease, and the health service provides services that help to ensure the needs of people from ethnic minority backgrounds are met.
Which is why we are supporting an APPG on Heart Disease meeting on ‘BME Communities and Heart Disease’ on Wednesday 23 January between 3-4pm in Room N, Portcullis House, Westminster. The meeting provides an opportunity to highlight the barriers to accessing health services, such as language and cultural considerations, and discuss how we might tackle these barriers. We will also be showing Parliamentarians our BME focused publications in a number of languages and the work the BHF does with BME communities across the UK.
We hope to improve awareness of heart disease (causes, prevention and signs) within hard to reach groups and provide some information and tools to help Parliamentarians help their local communities.