Cardiovascular risk factors among Native American women inter-tribal heart project participants.

OBJECTIVE: To examine cardiovascular disease risk factors among adult Native American women Inter-Tribal Heart Project participants. DESIGN: A secondary analysis used controllable risk factors identified by the American Heart Association as the framework to examine cardiovascular disease risk factors in this population. SETTING: Three Native American Reservations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: 866 adult Native American women who participated in the Inter-Tribal Heart Project cardiovascular health research study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Descriptive, correlational, bivariate, and multivariate analysis provided findings on cardiovascular disease risk factors in this population. RESULTS: Cardiovascular disease risk factors are high among this population. For every additional risk factor, the odds of self-reported cardiovascular disease increases 1.2 times (95% confidence interval: 1.1-1.3). Participants who self-reported cardiovascular disease were older, less educated, employed less, and reported more Indian ancestry (higher blood quantum) and had higher prevalence rates of diabetes, higher systolic blood pressure, and body mass index in comparison to women who self-reported an absence of cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS: A key to decreasing cardiovascular disease lies in preventing and controlling cardiovascular disease risk factors with concerted efforts specific to the culture and life ways of the Native American woman.