In Atlanta, Black women in their 20s are more likely to develop heart disease due to health conditions, new research shows.

A study released on Tuesday shows that out of the about 1,000 Black women surveyed, women under the age of 40 were more likely to eat fast food, which can result in higher-than-recommended salt intakes and lead to high blood pressure and body mass among all age groups.

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It just reinforces the point that preventative cardiovascular disease care needs to implemented early in young Black women, Nishant Vatsa, Emory Universitys internal medicine resident colleges hospital and lead author of the study, told The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The survey was part of Emory University's 10,000 Women Project, which provides free cardiovascular risk screenings, education and resources for follow-up care to decrease heart disease and high blood pressure in women, especially Black women, NPR reported. The women, who ranged from their 20s to 60s, were surveyed between 2015 and 2018 by researchers at Emory University from large churches and civic organizations, 30 percent of whom had post-graduate degrees.

"The data that we collected was through questionnaires asking about certain socioeconomic risk factors such as income, education and health insurance," Vatsa said. "We also asked about certain lifestyle risk factors that are related to cardiovascular disease, particularly relating to diet and exercise, as well as smoking habits."

Black women in Atlanta are already three to four times more likely to die from childbirth than white women in the same city, the AJC reported, giving them the worst maternal mortality rates in the nation.

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Young Black Atlanta women are more likely to develop heart disease | TheHill - The Hill