It was May 2020, and less than a week had passed since the murder of George Floyd. I read the messages that close friends posted on social media of their tearfulness, difficulty sleeping, and trouble concentrating at work. A few friends and family called to ask why their blood pressure had been running so high. As a physician, I quickly recognized the association between stress and cardiovascular disease. My understanding of this pathophysiology, however, did not make it any easier to witness my loved ones suffer, or to personally suffer, the psychosomatic effects of being Black in America. The brutal murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd in quick succession last spring launched an aftershock so powerful it woke up the sleeping consciousness of our nation, if not the entire world. But those murders have also left an entire generation of Black Americans unequivocally aware of the constant threat that emanates from something as simple as skin color.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cardfail.2021.06.002

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