Jackson Free Press

For the first time, women might be dying from heart disease at higher rates than men. Preliminary data gathered in 2001 indicates a new trend in heart disease among a group of black women in Mississippi. "We think these findings are very dramatic," said Dr. Herman Taylor, director of the Jackson Heart Study. Dramatic because 30 years ago, heart disease was considered a man's disease, and even though heart disease is now the leading killer of women—more than 32 percent of them each year—their death rates have significantly trailed men's. That might be changing.

In 1970, white males had the highest death rate of heart disease, followed by black men. Black women suffered much lower rates of heart disease, and white women were the least likely to die of it. Women were rarely checked for heart disease even when they exhibited signs of a heart attack.

Then the trends started to change. Black men overtook white men in death rates from heart disease, and black women began developing much higher rates of heart disease than white women. They are twice as likely to die of a heart attack than white women. But women are still likely to develop heart disease later in life than men.

"Women were still believed to be protected from heart attack," Taylor said, "but if this new data tests out, they will no longer have that protection."

Researchers adjusted this group of women for age, said Taylor, who believes a number of factors contribute to the higher death rates. Higher rates of obesity and diabetes among black women could contribute to these troubling findings.

"I think diabetes could prove to be a key," Taylor said, "because it's very prevalent in both black women and men."

Hypertension also is a major indicator in heart disease, and black men and women are disproportionately affected by high blood pressure, as well.

The Jackson Heart Study is the largest study of heart disease and African Americans ever conducted. This month the first phase of the study will be completed—the recruitment and initial examination of more than 5,000 participants. The longitudinal study began in 2000, and will span three decades. Participants will be tracked over the years, sometimes by phone, sometimes through physicals.

Taylor hopes the study will provide data like the preliminary data on black women and heart disease, which could help scientists better pinpoint the cause of heart disease and figure out strategies to treat and prevent heart attacks.