Southerners, blacks more likely to die from heart disease

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that residents of the Southern U.S., particularly black ones, are more likely to die of heart problems than any other disease.

Experts believe Southerners are more at risk for developing heart disease because of race, poverty and healthcare access. Other research has shown that black populations often suffer more from high blood pressure and diabetes, especially poorer ones in rural areas. According to the 2010 U.S. census, more than half of all U.S. blacks live in the South.

Data showed that half of black men and 46 percent of black women have high blood pressure, while only a third of white men and fewer than a third of white women do. Black people also have nearly twice the rate of diabetes as whites, federal data shows.

Though similar data has been available in recent years, this population has limited access to comprehensive and regular healthcare.

“Even if they get to the doctor, they may not have the total package of physicians that can take care of the problems they have,” said Cardiologist Myrna Alexander-Nickens, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi, in a statement. “There’s not enough of us to go around.”

Additionally, Alexander-Nickens said she has seen child obesity increase, a major risk factor for developing diabetes.