I know that this blog has sat un-updated for a while. However, life sometimes has a way of making you take a break, and I needed to take a break from EVERYTHING for a while.
Two years ago, I was hospitalized for Idiopathic Congestive Heart Failure (on top of the other ailments I was suffering from.) Idiopathic because they have no causes or idea why it happened. I will need a heart transplant in the future, but for now I have some great medication, and a good health care team that work with me so that I can continue on doing what I love- teaching.
But having my heart just stop working at 40 years of age, got me thinking about the connection between health and societal oppressions. Of course, I did some reading and research, and I am wondering just how much of my experiences of racism, sexism, classism etc contributed to the current state of my physical health?
We know that racism has an effect on Mental health; and that the lower economic status that is a result of racist practices can have a result on the type and frequency of health care for racialized people. But what about the stress of constant exposure to oppression and its effects on folx physical health?
"For all age groups over 30, there are strong, negative total effects of racism in wave 7 on physical health in waves 7 and 9. These effects are strongest for the 40–49 year olds (coefficients −0.26 in wave 7 and -0.27 in wave 9) and 50–59 year olds (coefficients −0.25 in wave 7 and -0.15 in wave 9)...The results clearly indicate that exposure to racism severely and negatively impacts the health of people from minoritised ethnic groups in the UK. Our findings make an important contribution to the existing literature as we demonstrate the persistence of these effects over time and across age groups. In particular, by investigating the effects of racism on health by age, our approach allows us to understand processes of accumulation and the importance of life stage. Repeated exposure to racism leads to an accumulation of disadvantage and poorer health outcomes over the life course." 1 (Stopforth, Kapadia, Nazroo & Becares "The enduring effects of racism on health: Understanding direct and indirect effects over time," from SSM Popul Health. 2022 Aug 28;19:101217. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2022.101217)
"Repeated exposure to racism leads to an accumulation of disadvantage and poorer health outcomes over the life course."
The poorer health outcomes this study saw, were in terms of hypertension and heart health. That is to say, the longer the exposure to racism, to poorer one's overall Heart health. Racist experiences lead to stress. The stress from experiencing racial discrimination activates the body's "fight-or-flight" response, releasing hormones that elevate blood pressure and increase inflammation over time. Chronic stress from racism can lead to physical changes such as increased heart rate, decreased heart rate variability (HRV), and changes in stress-related hormones, all of which are detrimental to cardiovascular health. 2 And finally, the cumulative burden of living with racism can lead to "weathering," an accelerated decline in health and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases, according to Harvard Health. 3 The combined effects of chronic stress, limited healthy resources, and biased healthcare contribute to higher rates of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension and heart failure. 4
My own experience closely mirrored some of the participants of these studies. I was sick for a while. And even though I have a good income and access to benefits, medical professionals ignored all of my symptoms and complaints often offering diagnoses such as "asthma," "influenza" or "needing to lose weight." I saw 4 different doctors. And each time I was dismissed with no answers, but a prescription for codeine-laced cough medicine, a series of inhalers, and antibiotics to take care of the problem.
"The moment medical professionals took my health seriously, is when my white husband called and made them listen."
The moment medical professionals took my health seriously, is when my white husband called and made them listen. They listened to my white husband before they listened to me about MY health. I cannot know their intensions, or why they would not listen to me, but I can't help but think of unintentional biases that my medical team had. I was a plus-sized, Black and Indigenous woman- with a distrust of the medical institution- who complained about not being able to breathe, incredible fatigue, inexplicable weight gain, and a feeling of generalized illness. All the traditional symptoms of Heart Failure were there- but they were all ignored, why? Was it assumptions about my lifestyle? Was it my skin colour that lead them to dismiss me? 3 of the 4 doctors I consulted were non white, but not Black. Was it Anti-Black racism? I may never know why I was ignored, nor why I have these health problems- but given the above research, I think I have a good idea.
As if I needed another reason for why I vehemently fight against oppression in education- I learned the hard way that racism kills.
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