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I just came back from a medical conference in Atlanta, titled Combating the Epidemic of Cardiovascular Diseases and Sudden Death. Blacks are twice as likely to suffer from sudden death as Whites. Blacks tend to be younger and have known risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Prevention and making early diagnosis of high blood pressure and diabetes were important to combating the epidemic.

The speakers discussed the importance of screening for blood pressure and diabetes. There are so many people walking around with diabetes and high blood pressure and when they are finally diagnosed, their heart muscle and kidneys have been damaged. It is so important to know your numbers on a regular basis whether you have high blood pressure and/or diabetes or not. Also, if you are on medication, make sure that the medication is doing what it is supposed to do – having  your blood pressure and sugars well controlled.

After the scientific portion of the conference, I went to a Ladies Hat and Tea Event. This year’s theme was Nurturing the Woman, the Role Model.  The speaker talked about all women as role models in their unique way. She said that we should never compare ourselves to others because we each have a purpose in life. We each have our own story and we should embrace that story. She also talked about not delaying what we want to do in life. We have a tendency to make excuses but she challenged us to be bold and not afraid. We need to remember to be kind to ourselves so that we can be the best role model for those around us.

Although the conference was great,  I am glad to be home. I thought the information above was important to share.

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you. This marks the 100^th blog written on this website. Thank you for being engaged and for motivating me to continue to write. I am once again reminded of the purpose of this website – Keeping my sisters (universal sisters) alive and healthy through education and empowerment with the hope of achieving health equity one day. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your life every week.