Heart Disease Study in Phase 2 — Lifestyles to Be Looked at to See If They Are Cause of Higher Black Cardiac Ills

By Associated Press

JACKSON – A national study that seeks to understand why black people have a higher incidence of heart disease is in its second phase of research.

Black people nationwide, and particularly in Mississippi, have higher rates of cardiovascular problems, diabetes and obesity, than whites and other minorities.

The next phase of the study, which incorporates people ages 35- 84, will continue for three years.

Sam Wiley of Jackson is one of the 5,300 people participating in the Jackson Heart Study.

Wiley will be heading back to the Jackson Medical Mall for more exams.

He started participating in the study five years ago and now, Wiley, 78, has made improvements in his diet and begun a ritual of walking around the Metrocenter mall.

“I feel pretty good,” Wiley said. “I just walk every morning, five days a week, Monday through Friday. I eat mostly vegetables and chicken.”

Participants in the study are offered outreach programs that teach how to master a healthy diet and start exercising to minimize the risk of heart disease.

The Jackson Heart Study has followed in the path of another study since 2000. The newer study was modeled after one that began in 1987 that looked at heart disease, race and gender in four U.S. regions. Jackson was one of the areas that participated in that study for the more than 10 years that it endured.

Now researchers are interested in examining participants over a long period of time as they try to establish what aspects of their lifestyles may contribute to heart disease.

“We’ll go through this battery of testing about every four years,” said Sonja Fuqua, director of retention for the study, in a statement.

The study has received $54.3 million in federal funds and incorporates Jackson State University, Tougaloo College and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Researchers obtained more than 27 million pieces of data in the first phase of the study, said Dr. Herman Taylor, the study’s lead researcher.

It will take about three years to perform the 90-minute examination on each of the study participants at a rate of about 10 a day, Taylor said.

“We’re looking at very basic things, such as blood pressure, body fat and the usual things like (body mass index) and weight,” Taylor said.