Adelaide-based cardiologist, Dr Chukwudiebube Ajaero, said it is a common trend in this community. “What I have noted in the African patients that I have interacted with, seems to be that of greater severity of these conditions and greater suffering.” Ajaero believes not enough research is being done on the heart health of African-Australians, and has launched the country’s first heart health initiative focusing on this community. Experts in the field said this could lead to greater awareness and better treatment for African-Australians. “We know for example that among the populations in the US of Black Americans who came from West Africa, they’re more sensitive to salt, more likely to get hypertension and stroke for example. Now that might apply to our populations but we don’t really know until we look,” said Dr Garry Jennings of the Heart Foundation. The Australian federal government has allocated over US$4 million to finance a national action plan.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS
