Title: Transcendental meditation to address heart disease and health disparities in BIPOC communities

Biography:

Yolanda Lewis-Ragland is a double-board-certified physician in pediatrics and obesity medicine, she is the owner and CEO of Family Fitness and Wellness for Community Health, and founder of Cares. Foundation, her nonprofit organization focusing on reducing health disparities in at-risk communities at home and abroad. For 20 years, She has lived and practiced in one of the poorest and most traumatized communities in the nation’s capital, gaining the trust and respect of residents and, more recently, actively addressing heart disease in African Americans through her annual Heart-to-Heart Red Carpet Affair that educates families about the signs and symptoms of heart disease, and introduces practical and sustainable ways for families to address the stress of systemic racism, poor health outcomes driven by social determinants of health, and unconscious bias in healthcare delivery that contribute directly to hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and death. She was just appointed as the director of community impact and health equity for the Harlem Festival of Culture in New York CityYolanda Lewis-Ragland is a double-board-certified physician in pediatrics and obesity medicine, she is the owner and CEO of Family Fitness and Wellness for Community Health, and founder of Cares. Foundation, her nonprofit organization focusing on reducing health disparities in at-risk communities at home and abroad. For 20 years, She has lived and practiced in one of the poorest and most traumatized communities in the nation’s capital, gaining the trust and respect of residents and, more recently, actively addressing heart disease in African Americans through her annual Heart-to-Heart Red Carpet Affair that educates families about the signs and symptoms of heart disease, and introduces practical and sustainable ways for families to address the stress of systemic racism, poor health outcomes driven by social determinants of health, and unconscious bias in healthcare delivery that contribute directly to hypertension, heart attacks, strokes, and death. She was just appointed as the director of community impact and health equity for the Harlem Festival of Culture in New York City

Abstract

Even in the backdrop of a deadly pandemic, heart disease remained the number 1 killer of all Americans in the year 2020 with nearly 700,000 victims compared to the nearly 350,000 COVID-19 deaths. According to the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is likely to continue to overshadow the COVID-19 virus for years to come as the long-term impact of the novel coronavirus directly affects cardiovascular health (resulting in death from heart attack and stroke for some or life with valvular disease and/or hypertension for others). Of note, the people of color suffer from a disproportionate burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD), as well as many other chronic illnesses. According to the NIH Office of Minority Health, African Americans were 30% more likely to die from heart disease in 2018 than non-Hispanic whites. In fact, although African Americans are less than 14% of the population, we account for 23.5% of deaths from CVD, compared to non-Hispanic whites who make up more than 75% of the U.S. population but merely 23.7% of CVD deaths. Regarding Hypertension specifically, Black women, are 60% more likely to have high blood pressure, as compared to non-Hispanic white women, and in the general population, African American adults are 40% more likely to have hypertension but, in turn, less likely than non-Hispanic whites to have their blood pressure under control. Unquestionably, social and economic conditions exist in marginalized populations that negatively impact our health status and can account for some of these differences like lack of adequate access to healthcare, poor treatment in healthcare driven by implicit or unconscious biases or explicit biases known as racism,  lack of economic stability (often driven by structural racism) to maintain medical care or afford the cost of health insurance and medications that are shown to marginally work in many Black people, and  other social determinants that contribute to an environment that results in poor health outcomes and poor compliance. Furthermore, research has shown that continuous and repeated activation of hormones like adrenalin and cortisol are associated with trauma and toxic stress. When released too frequently into the body, the results are hypertension, chronic inflammation, high glucose levels, and low bone density. Hence, the physiological effects of structural racism and the internalized trauma of microaggressions and unconscious biases that are repeatedly experienced by BIPOC populations have an enormous impact on both physical and mental health and it is imperative that we identify cost-effective ways to help mitigate the deadly effects. Recent studies have shown that Transcendental Meditation (TM) can significantly reduce hypertension and decrease other forms of CVD in all populations. Currently, the Center for Resilience is diligently working to help fund a Phase 3 trial studying hypertension in the BIPOC population that would allow us to obtain the scientific data necessary to continue advocating for vulnerable communities to have TM covered by medical insurance which will make this treatment affordable, accessible and equitable and will help build resilience in communities who suffer excessive trauma.