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Heart disease is rampant in parts of the rural South. Researchers are hitting the road to learn why

Darrell Dixon holds a photo of him and his dad, Darrell Dixon Sr., at his home in Hernando, Miss., on August 11, 2024. (Millicent Dixon via AP)

Darrell Dixon holds a photo of him and his dad, Darrell Dixon Sr., at his home in Hernando, Miss., on August 11, 2024. (Millicent Dixon via AP)

A medical trailer, being used to test rural residents' heart and lung function as part of a study to determine why the rates of heart and lung disease are so much higher in the rural South, is seen, May 8, 2024, in Napoleonville, La. (Sean Coady/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute via AP)

A medical trailer, being used to test rural residents' heart and lung function as part of a study to determine why the rates of heart and lung disease are so much higher in the rural South, is seen, May 8, 2024, in Napoleonville, La. (Sean Coady/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute via AP)

A billboard for a new study about why heart and lung disease is so much higher in the rural South is seen in Napoleonville, La., on May 8, 2024. (Sean Coady/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute via AP)

A billboard for a new study about why heart and lung disease is so much higher in the rural South is seen in Napoleonville, La., on May 8, 2024. (Sean Coady/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute via AP)