Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors in Blacks Living in the Caribbean

The epidemiology of cardiovascular disease in the black population of the Caribbean is important as attempts are made to understand the reasons for racial disparities in health outcomes in developed countries. Over the past 50 years, the Afro-Caribbean population (ie, Caribbean people of African descent) has undergone an epidemiologic transition, with cardiovascular disease now ranked as the leading cause of death in the region. The Afro-Caribbean population currently has a prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors between that of African nations and the black population of the United States. Afro-Caribbean women have a greater burden of cardiovascular risk factors than Afro-Caribbean men. The high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and the presence of type 2 diabetes in Afro-Caribbean youth indicate that the current epidemic of cardiovascular disease is likely to remain unabated in the short to medium term. Too few clinical trials of cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular risk factors have been conducted in the region. The Caribbean’s health care systems must focus on the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.