Abstract
The racial disparity in hypertension and hypertension-related outcomes has been recognized
for decades with African Americans with greater risks than caucasians. Blood pressure
levels have consistently been higher for African Americans with an earlier onset of
hypertension. Although awareness and treatment levels of high blood pressure have
been similar, racial differences in control rates are evident. The higher blood pressure
levels for African Americans are associated with higher rates of stroke, end-stage
renal disease and congestive heart failure. The reasons for the racial disparities
in elevated blood pressure and hypertension-related outcomes risk remain unclear.
However, the implications of the disparities of hypertension for prevention and clinical
management are substantial, identifying African American men and women with excel
hypertension risk and warranting interventions focused on these differences. in addition,
focused research to identify the factors attributed to these disparities in risk burden
is an essential need to address the evidence gaps.
Key Indexing Terms
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Article info
Footnotes
The author has no financial or other conflicts of interest to disclose.
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Copyright
© 2014 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
