High Blood Pressure Among African Americans

Blood pressure measurements on adult males 30-39 years of age were obtained in a survey of a representative sample of Twin Cities households. To compare the frequency of hypertension in the white and non-white population surveyed, the most appropriate measure is the

In today’s society, there are many different factors that can contribute to one’s overall health and well-being. Since there are so many different factors that can affect one’s health, there are inequalities that exist among people and this is knows as health disparity. "Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific population groups in the United States” (Nhlbi.nih.gov, 2015). Health disparities can be associated with factors such as: socioeconomic status, education, gender, race, ethnicity, age, mental health, and religion. There are certain health problems that can affect different groups more than others, such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and HIV/AIDS (Surgeongeneral.gov, 2015). One example of a specific population in the United States that is affected by health disparities is the African American Population. While African Americans are affected by various health disparities, one that affects this population more prominently is heart disease.

The World Health Center Organization has identified depression as the fourth leading cause of total disease burden and the leading cause of disability worldwide. Research has focused on the role of socioeconomic status and the environmental risk of the underlying cause of these disparities in depression diagnosis and treatment. Research has also proven that African American women have lower rates of diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension compared to non-hispanics. Women are twice as likely as men to experience

The American Medical Journal explains that the heart disease is one of the deadliest medical conditions. Medical experts reckon that heart disease is a lifestyle disease, which emanates from excessive consumption of the wrong dietary combination. Foods such as fats and carbohydrates often expose individuals to the threat of heart disease. Consuming fast foods from McDonalds also expose people to the threat of heart disease. The most plausible means of mitigating the risk of contacting heart disease is by observing dietary combination. Individuals must keep a balanced diet always in order to avoid dietary concerns later on in life. The most common symptoms include chest discomfort, nausea, trouble sleeping, breathing problems, and unusual tiredness.

High blood pressure (hypertension) is a major health condition which affects many Americans. This health condition may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. A normal blood pressure consists of systolic blood pressure divided by diastolic blood pressure, 120/80mmHg (millimeters of mercury). High blood pressure is defined as systolic pressure which is greater than 140mm Hg, and diastolic pressure which is over 90mm Hg. Hypertension influences the health outcomes of black Americans more than other races in the United States. Racial discrimination and socioeconomic status are two major factors which influence the rate of high blood pressure in the black American population.

An African American is considered residents of the United States and who have ancestry in any of the black communities of Africa. African Americans are the second largest minority population. A minority is considered the smallest of a group. Although African Americans had a hard time evolving in America their cultures, slavery, slave rebellions, and the civil rights movements have shaped African-American religious, familial, political, and economic behaviors in many ways (NCBI gov books).

The risks of getting those diseases are even higher for African Americans.” (American Heart Association). High blood pressure and obesity are the common conditions that increase a heart disease. High blood pressure is a condition in which the blood flow is abnormally higher than usual in the arteries. “Nearly 42% percent black men and 45% black women of twenty years and older have high blood pressure” (DeNoon). Researchers may have found a gene in blacks that make them more sensitive to salt, which in the long run increases the risk of high blood pressure. Obesity in african americans is more common as well, which increases the risk of heart disease. 63% of black men and 77% of black women are overweight or obese. A solution for high blood pressure and obesity is a healthy diet and exercise. It won’t only reduce the chances of getting these conditions but also reduce the chances of a heart disease or a

Due to discrimination, hypertension is widely dominating in minorities. Back in 2007, it had been reported that 24 million individuals suffering from this condition are African Americans alone (Hall 210). In a

Keywords: socioeconomic status (SES), cardiovascular disease (CVD), African American, risk factors, social determinants, and health disparities, institutionalized racism.

Hypertension is a developing problem worldwide associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In 2020, the world population will be approximately 7.8 billion people, and there will be 1 billon people who may be affected by hypertension (Tomson & Lip, 2005). One in three adults in the United States has high blood pressure. According to the report “Health, United States, 2010 with Special Feature on Death and Dying,” the prevalence of hypertension among adults 20 years old or older increased from 24% to 32% during 1988-1994 and 2005-2008. The African-American population has a higher prevalence of this health condition than white Americans do. In 2005 to 2008, the prevalence of hypertension among black males (41.4%) was more than 10%,

America has come a long way since the Civil Rights movement in the 60s. Prejudice, discrimination, racism, and violence have decreased since then, but it is still very present in the 21st century. There have been numerous cases from Trayvon Martin, to Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, and many more lives that were lost in these last few years. Being mindful of who they’re around and what they’re doing is something that African Americans always think about, because the last thing they want is to be one of these cases. Not only do African Americans have to deal with “normal” everyday difficulties, but added to that, is the stress of being black in America. From racial profiling to the senseless murders that the media likes to denounce as “provoked”, it is not an astonishing fact that African Americans tend to have higher blood pressures. One could ask, could it get any more stressful than this? And the answer is yes. Being a woman in America is already hard enough, from sexual crimes, having wages that are everything but equal, to dealing with domestic-public dichotomy enforced by the gender binary in America. Combining these two could make for a sticky situation. American pop culture likes to forget that black women face the same amount of issues as black men, and added on top of that, the issues that revolve around being a woman. The culmination of issues have lead women to show symptoms of hypertension more frequently as a result of stress in comparison to their race and gender

Hypertension (HTN), also referred to as high blood pressure, is a condition characterized by elevated systemic arterial blood pressure. An elevated blood pressure is considered to be a systolic pressure of at least 140 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) or a diastolic pressure of at least 90 mmHg. HTN is among the most common risk factors for heart disease among African Americans (Ferdinanc, 2006) and one of the leading causes of deaths in the United States. Spencer et.al., (2011) states that it is one of the leading indicators that contribute to heart disease, the leading cause of death in Baltimore City. Sickness and death from heart disease are much more likely to strike African Americans than Whites in Baltimore (DHMH, 2005). Spencer continues that in Baltimore City hospitalization percentage for 100,000 populations under 75 years old was 136.6 for Blacks and 15 for Whites.

c) Hypertension: Hypertension is just a synonym for high blood pressure. “Hypertension is called the “silent killer.” It is called the “silent killer” because a lot of people do not know that they have high blood pressure.

Hypertension (HTN) is a major public health issue affecting 70 million African-American males in the United States (CDC,2015) and predisposing them to cardiovascular diseases (Scranton, Goldstein, & Stecher, 2013). The WHO (2013) defines HTN as a systolic blood pressure of equal or greater than 140 mm/Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of equal or greater than 90 mm/ Hg. In addition, a large portion of patient’s diagnosed with HTN also have a diagnosis of erectile dysfunction (ED), both of which when left untreated can have a negative impact on quality of life. ED has been defined by Adebusoye et al., (2012), the lack of sufficient sexual intercourse due to inability of a penile erection in male. Compounding the high incidence of HTN and ED among African-American males, is the problem of non-adherence to prescribed anti-hypertensive medications. Real or perceived ED associated with the adverse side effects of anti-hypertensive medications is a chief reason for non-adherence to anti-hypertensive medications among males (Kakkavas et al., 2013). This research study will use The Health Belief Model to investigate the correlation between African-American males with dual diagnoses’ of HTN and ED who are non-adherent to anti-hypertensive medications. More specifically, this study will scrutinize the adverse side effects of anti-hypertensive medications in relation to complications of untreated HTN, one of which is ED. The results of this study could be used to educate

Factors that contribute to hypertension are age, ethnicity, gender, and lifestyles as shown in Figure 1 (Yoon, Burt, Louis, & Carroll, 2012). While the prevalence of hypertension is relatively equal among men and women, certain ethnicities have a higher propensity for developing hypertension. The prevalence of hypertension in African-Americans is among the highest in the United States for a single ethnic group (Ferdinand & Armani, 2007). In the United States, around 78% of people suffering from hypertension are aware of their condition, with only 68% using hypertensive medications to control their blood