The #1 Cause Of Death For Hispanic Adults Has Changed — Here's Why It Matters
One of the scariest things about heart health is that you can feel completely fine and still have risk factors for disease building in the background. For Hispanic adults in the U.S., those risks may start showing up earlier than expected, which means heart health may matter more in your 20s, 30s, and 40s than previously assumed.
A new American Heart Association scientific statement takes a closer look at the cardiovascular health landscape across Hispanic and Latino American communities, and addresses how the medical and public health community can improve it.
About the statement
The AHA statement brings together existing research and national health data on heart disease and stroke among Hispanic and Latino adults in the U.S. It updates the organization's previous guidance from 2014 and looks at factors ranging from diabetes and obesity to healthcare access.
Before getting into the meat of the statement, it is important to remember that Hispanic and Latino people are not one homogenous group. Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central American, and South American communities can have different patterns of cardiovascular risk, so researchers have increasingly moved away from treating them as a singular population.
Some heart risks are showing up years earlier
Here are some quick statistics about how heart risks are shifting in Hispanic and Latino American communities.
- Mexican American adults are being diagnosed with diabetes at an average age of about 45 years, compared with about 52 years among non-Hispanic white adults.
- Stroke tends to occur six to eight years earlier among Hispanic adults.
- About 46% of Hispanic adults have obesity, while 15.5% have type 2 diabetes, nearly twice the rate seen among non-Hispanic white adults.
Researchers have also been rethinking what is known as the "Hispanic paradox." Historically, Hispanic populations in the U.S. have had lower cardiovascular death rates despite having higher rates of many heart health risk factors. The AHA notes that this pattern does not hold across every heritage group and may be fading, particularly among Hispanics born in the U.S.
Heart health isn't just about individual choices
It's easy to look at risk factors such as physical activity, diet, or smoking, and assume they're simply a matter of personal choice, but this statement paints a more complicated picture.
Acculturation, or the process of adapting to life in the U.S., has been linked with changes in health behaviors and cardiovascular risk in some Hispanic groups. Greater acculturation has been associated with smoking, lower physical activity, and a higher disease burden in some research, although the relationship isn't consistent across all groups.
Access to healthcare can also shape the response to risk factors. About 20% of Hispanic adults in the U.S. were uninsured in 2023, compared with 6.4% of white adults.
Language can add another hurdle, particularly when someone is trying to understand a new diagnosis or manage a chronic condition. The AHA notes that care from Spanish-speaking providers and reliable interpreter services can improve communication and help people follow treatment plans. Community health workers, sometimes called promotores de salud, are helpful in supporting healthy eating, physical activity, and smoking cessation in Hispanic communities.
What to do with this information
If you have Hispanic or Latino heritage, there is no need to worry that heart disease is inevitable. The point of this statement is to offer ways to proactively tackle heart health. Take a look at some of the following suggestions:
- Know your numbers: Ask your healthcare provider how often you should check your blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol, particularly if you have a family history of diabetes or heart disease.
- Don't wait for symptoms: High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar can develop without obvious symptoms, so routine screening is important for catching changes before they become bigger problems.
- Ask for language support: If you prefer care in Spanish, ask whether your healthcare system offers a certified medical interpreter or bilingual provider rather than relying on a family member to translate. Community health workers may also be able to connect you with culturally relevant nutrition, movement, and chronic-disease support.
The AHA also calls for broader changes to make care more accessible, including expanding bilingual healthcare services, improving interpreter access, and addressing insurance and other structural barriers that can prevent people from getting preventive and chronic medical care.
The takeaway
The AHA statement highlights an emerging pattern in Hispanic American adults in which several cardiovascular risk factors are appearing earlier. These are occur in the context of genuine cultural differences in Hispanic communities that can make it more difficult to access care.
If you are concerned about your heart health, knowing your risk factors and staying on top of screening can give you more opportunities to get ahead of it. And, If cost or lack of insurance is making it difficult to get routine care, consider asking a local clinic, community health center, or community health worker what low-cost or sliding-scale options are available in your area.