“…From 1999 to 2017, CVD death rates have dropped significantly for all age, race, and gender groups; however, the Black population still faces the highest rates of CVD mortality and morbidity ( Curtin, 2019 ). The increased burden of psychosocial stressors such as low income and family strain faced by Blacks has been linked to earlier progression of CVD and other chronic illnesses such as obesity and diabetes ( Friedman and Herd, 2010 ; Gebreab et al, 2017 ; Merker et al, 2022 ; Rohleder, 2014 ; Suglia et al, 2020 ).…”