BETHESDA, Md. — The COVID pandemic saw people moving out of the cities when work-from-home became the new normal in society. Now, scientists are giving the public a reason to move back to the concrete jungle. Researchers with the National Institute of Health say there’s a 19-percent higher risk of experiencing heart failure when you reside in a rural area compared to an urban setting. The risk is even higher among Black men living in the countryside. The study is one of the first to establish a connection between rural settings and developing heart failure.
“We did not expect to find a difference of this magnitude in heart failure among rural communities compared to urban communities, especially among rural-dwelling Black men,” says Véronique L. Roger, MD, MPH, a scientist at the Epidemiology and Community Health Branch in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) Division of Intramural Research, in a media release. “This study makes it clear that we need tools or interventions specifically designed to prevent heart failure in rural populations, particularly among Black men living in these areas.”
Heart failure occurs when the heart fails to pump enough blood for the body. About 6.2 million American adults have this chronic condition, with few treatment options to explore once it develops. The findings suggest preventative measures for heart health is even more important in rural America.
“It is much easier to prevent heart failure than to reduce its mortality once you have it,” adds study author Sarah Turecamo, a medical school at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
Following a heart-healthy lifestyle is key to reducing your risk of heart failure. This includes managing your stress levels, exercising, and staying away from foods filled with trans and saturated fat that would increase your blood pressure. High blood pressure is one of the biggest contributors to heart failure, and the study authors note that Black men disproportionally have high hypertension levels. Checking your blood pressure regularly can help you spot signs that could lead to heart failure.
Black men and women in rural areas both at risk of heart failure
The researchers tracked the health of 27,115 adults living in the southeastern United States for 13 years. Nearly 69 percent of Black adults were from community health centers that care for medically underserved groups. About 20 percent lived in the countryside while the rest were in cities. The team compared the rate of first-time heart failure among rural and urban dwellers in 12 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia).
Living in rural America was linked to a 19-percent higher risk for heart failure among women and Black men than city folk. Black men in rural areas had the highest risk of newly-onset heart failure at 34 percent. Black women did not fare any better. Those living in rural areas had an 18-percent increased risk for heart failure than Black women living in urban sites. There was no association between rural living and heart failure risk for White men.
The study did not explain why living in the country affects your heart health, but the researchers have proposed several explanations. Despite a cheaper cost of living, rural areas may not have enough doctors or healthcare services to help sick residents. There are also considerably less grocery stores that offer healthy food options and structural racism that could block access to proper medical care.
“Finding an association between living in rural areas and an increased incidence of heart failure is an important advance, especially given its implications for helping to address geographic-, gender-, and race-based disparities,” says David Goff, MD, PhD, director of NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences. “We look forward to future studies testing interventions to prevent heart failure in rural populations as we continue to fight heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.”
The study is published in JAMA Cardiology.
Here’s another propaganda piece. Obviously urban areas have more hospitals if that’s what you want or need. I’d rather stay in the country, breathing clean(er) air, eating organic produce, taking care of my heart and avoiding sickness found in urban areas (and hospitals); than tip-toeing over feces and people with their needles sleeping in the streets, and dodging bullets and rapists in the cities.
Exactly! All my family members that live on the country live very long healthy lives. I agree this is just another piece of propaganda.
Doctor here, this is pure rubbish. More propaganda to explain away the deaths from the 💉
The takeaways are this:
The study is purely correlation, no causation.
“There was no association between rural living and heart failure risk for White men.”
“structural racism” is one explanation with no supporting data.
“Fewer grocery stores that offer healthy food options”. Pure BS.
Here are some examples why the researchers are offering BS explanations:
“New research reveals that produce sold at dollar stores is actually quite comparable to that found at traditional grocery chains, only markedly cheaper.”
studyfinds.org (tinyurl.com/bdhynacy)
“Adding healthy food stores to food deserts produced little change in the eating habits of households, particularly among low-income and less educated households.”
penntoday.upenn.edu (tinyurl.com/mu8zzu47 )
“Although many people began shopping at the new local supermarket after it opened, they generally didn’t buy healthier food.”
http://www.usnews.com (tinyurl.com/48j598wf)
This is the kind of propaganda we’ve come to expect from elitist coastal urbanites who have never actually lived outside of a mass population density and their dimwitted attempts to draw ridiculous conclusions through statistics. No surprise the author of this is from the armpit of the United States.
100% agree with the other comment’s what a load of rubbish! Here, take your daily dose of fear, we know what’s best you. This is straight up propaganda written by a sell out shill who holds a Master’s of Science in Psychology with a concentration in behavioral neuroscience and a Bachelor’s of Science in integrative neuroscience.That’s a red flag for me, but if things get slow for her I’m sure she can find work as a fact checker for Facebook.
New Common Causes of Heart Attacks and Strokes Since 2021
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Eating eggs
Drinking coffee and tea
Playing video games
New chemical in earth’s atmosphere
Air pollution
Hot weather
Laughing
Mental stress caused by fearmongering anti-vaxxors
Excercise
Pre-existing heart conditions
Making love
Cold weather
Heat from climate change mixed with being pregnant
Napping
Sleeping Positions
Snoring
Extreme joy
Tiny particles in the air
And many more…
Article can only be a joke . Fraudulent. Sponsored by Pfizer 😂
The funniest part of this study:
“The researchers tracked the health of 27,115 adults living in the southeastern United States for 13 years. Nearly 69 percent of Black adults were from community health centers that care for medically underserved groups. About 20 percent lived in the countryside while the rest were in cities. The team compared the rate of first-time heart failure among rural and urban dwellers in 12 states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia).”🤣🤣🤣
It’s the South you morons, where fried food is staple in their diet! This is a PRIME example of government grants paying someone’s salary to effectively study and state the OBVIOUS!
How about they go and look in places the Oklahoma, Utah, Idaho, Kentucky, or OTHER farming states?🤔
Are you kidding, who sent you guys down this path?
What WEF committee funded this BS.
Well you just shot your “site name” all to hell.
Veracity out the window folks. … why not just move to China.
Return to objective journalism? Writing propaganda could be the worst thing for your heart and soul.
This is complete nonsense. People that live in the country side ACTUALLY live healthier lives, because the air is nicer, they can grow their own food and raise live stock. You can get plenty of exercise. People that live in the city have an actual higher chance of health problems. In the cities, there is unhealthy fast-food, drugs (including pills), etc.
I’m sorry but you are full of donkey dung, could you just tell the truth instead of being a mouthpiece for the propaganda machine? The money you are earning to spew these lies is BLOOD MONEY. Repent and be on the right side of God and history.
LOL This just proves the point of that UN woman when she said “We own the science”. I can’t even imagine anyone writing something like this article with a straight face.
This is simply wrong. Living away from cities is going to get you away from higher levels of stress and pollution both of which are going to have a positive effect in many ways. People in rural areas also tend to be more physically active as well.
While city areas may provide people with more varied modern things and options, it is vastly worse for a person’s health and safety.