African Americans tend to have lower average cholesterol levels than the general population. As nearly 40% of all African Americans struggle with hypertensio, black patients and their doctors often focus on controlling blood pressure not diabetes. Here’s what African Americans need to know about what’s normal.
With type 2 diabetes at near-epidemic proportions in black communities, more African Americans will find themselves in that very-high-risk category. Guidelines for those at moderately high risk still recommend an Lower-density lipoprotein (LDL) level below 130 mg/dL, but experts are debating whether those should be lowered as well. Ask your doctor for a screening and the best treatments for you.
Keep monitoring. Black Americans of all ages are more likely than whites to have a heart attack and die from it. Luther T. Clark, M.D., chief of cardiovascular medicine at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, says that’s largely because African Americans tend to have several risk factors all at once.

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