A day of dancing, nutrition and blood tests — a North Philly organization is taking a holistic approach to preventing strokes

A year ago, Ralph Vance suffered a stroke. Now, even though he still walks with a cane, the 67-year-old from North Philly is doing much better.

“I’m getting my balance and everything back,” he said from under his green Eagles hat. “I’m taking it slow.”

On Thursday morning, Vance was coming from his dentist’s office when he saw signs for the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention, a collaboration between Temple and Jefferson hospitals. The community health organization was holding a daylong event for stroke awareness and education, so Vance decided to stop by.

» READ MORE: $5 million gift from Merck CEO and wife to fund Jefferson and Temple stroke initiative

With Michael Jackson music filling the air, Vance surveyed the booths hosted by other health providers and community organizations, then made his way into the Frazier Family Coalition’s building, where he received free screenings for blood pressure, cholesterol, A1C, and more.

The nurses told him his numbers were all in a healthy range; laying off the greasy food and starches was paying off, he said. Now with more proof that his body was getting healthier, was Vance excited by his progress?

“Oh yeah. Definitely.”

Numerous pieces of evidence demonstrate how Black neighborhoods and poorer neighborhoods experience worse health outcomes than their white, more affluent counterparts. Strokes in Philadelphia follow the same pattern.

They are much more likely to occur in North and West Philly, according to a 2019study of stroke incidence in major American cities published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine. The study compared census tracts in each city to determine how often people self-reported a history of stroke. Nationwide, the median percentage in cities studied was 2.8%. When it came to Philadelphia, researchers found it had the highest incidence of stroke history compared to the country’s eight other largest cities, at 3.97%.

In North and West Philly, certain census tracts had 4-6% self-reported stroke incidence, some even in the 5-8% range. Meanwhile, areas in Center City and Northwest Philly remained in a more comfortable 0-2% range.

May is also Stroke Month, as designated by the American Stroke Association. There is evidence that stroke incidence peaks at this time of year, as described by research from the University of Pennsylvania in the American Neurological Association’s journal earlier this year.

Penn researchers studied over a dozen different neurological conditions to determine whether there were seasonal variations to them, including ischemic strokes.

Ischemic strokes are the most common kind of stroke, where a vessel supplying blood to the brain gets obstructed. The researchers wrote that they, “found an increase [in ischemic stroke] in the late spring and summer,” likely due to a combination of fluctuating health and environmental factors.

“The stats are really high in this community,” said Neva White, the executive director of the Frazier Family Coalition. White encouraged people living in North Philly to take advantage of Frazier’s free screenings, which don’t require an appointment. And while screenings are just one piece of a comprehensive healthcare plan, they can provide a person with valuable information.

White also said it is important for people to know the warning signs for a stroke, so a person can get to a hospital as soon as possible when one occurs. The acronym BEFAST is a helpful reminder:

“A lot of people don’t realize their risks for stroke,” White said, like having high blood pressure or sickle cell disease, being a woman, or smoking.

That’s why Frazier’s community day event was focused on holistic health education and awareness. A group of women jumped into a dancing exercise class across from Frazier’s building, while booths from the Free Library, the city’s Department of Public Health, and other organizations offered informational handouts and resources.

» READ MORE: Here’s what we know about John Fetterman’s stroke — and long-term recovery for patients like him

“Putting this center here and providing health screenings and health education and a little bit of clinical support is not enough if people don’t understand the connection between healthy nutrition and all of these diseases that we are here to deal with,“ said Ken Frazier, who donated $5 million to fund the organization.

He and his wife, Andréa Frazier, were motivated to start the coalition after Andréa suffered a stroke while giving birth, in part due to high blood pressure.

“In the African American community, I think knowledge is a very powerful tool that people can use to protect themselves and their families,” he said.

Cristal Rivera, 37, luckily doesn’t have any experience with stroke. But she stopped by the community day anyway, and jumped into the dance exercise session for a quick workout.

She was amazed by the booth hosted by the American Lung Association, which displayed two real pig lungs. One of the lungs was healthily preserved, while the other had been exposed to the same amount of carcinogens and smoke that a person would experience after years of steady cigarette use, which could increase the risk of a stroke.

“I’m a single mom and I’ve got two boys,” she explained, mentioning how she wanted to stay as healthy as possible for herself and her 18- and 10-year-olds. She left the event with an armful of fliers and handouts, promising she’d tell her friends about the things she learned.

Community health fairs can provide access to preventive health screenings unavailable to people without insurance or regular doctors, but sometimes medical tests can create new problems. For example, a false positive result could lead to unnecessary anxiety and additional expenses. When offered a free screening test, patients may want to check the guidelines on what’s recommended at different ages to make sure they’re receiving appropriate care.