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. Hypertension is a developing …show more content…
There is a positive association between racial discrimination and blood pressure that shows in African Americans who have had experiences of racial discrimination and unfair treatment. In the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study (1996), Krieger and Sidney studied self-reported experiences of unfair treatment and racism from 4,086 black and white men and women ages 25 to 37 years old. Krieger and Sidney found out that working class blacks reported experiencing two or more discrimination cases when getting a job or looking for housing. Their blood pressures were 7 mmHg higher than working class whites (Arriola, 2002; Barksdale, Farrug, & Harkness, 2009). This showed that working class blacks also had higher blood pressure than professional blacks (Leary, 1996). The professional black males who experienced one or two discrimination situations had higher rates of hypertension than those professional white males. In addition, the blood pressure of professional black females who had two or more experiences of racial discrimination was higher than professional white females. These findings show that there’s a relationship between discriminatory experiences and hypertension (Krieger & Sidney, 1996)(Barksdale et al., 2009). More experiences of racial discrimination, result in blood pressure that is high. From the CARDIA study (1996), it
In the same article by Forman, information shows that even African American with a high socioeconomic status don’t completely escape racial discrimination. In fact, the data collected showed the opposite. It was the African Americans who were well educated and incorporated to white society that still felt the most emotional distress in the workplace (Forman, 2003).
Capingana, D. P., Magalhaes, P., Silca, A. T., Goncalves, M. A., Baldo, M. P., Rodrigues, S. L. (2013). Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and socioeconomic level among public-sector workers in Angola. BMC Public Health, 13(1), 1-9. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-13-732
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
According to the office of the minority health, approximately 48% of African American women and 44% of African American men suffer from some form of the cardiovascular disease which includes heart disease and stroke and adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure while the women are 1.6 times more likely to die from heart diseases and complications than other ethnic groups (The Office of Minority Health, 2016).
Mr. Dunn's blood pressure reading is 189/110. His LDL cholesterol reading is 200 mg/dl. He asks the student nurse if he should be concerned about his blood pressure.
Racial classification has a possibility to expose an individual to racism and health disparities by influencing access to care, scope and quality of care, and overall health outcomes. In the United States of America, the secret codes of socioeconomic status are deeply spotted by race, causing the racial differences in socioeconomic status and becomes the main element to racial differences in health and health care (Kennedy, 2013). Many studies have indicated that African-Americans distrust medical practices and medical professionals due to a long history tied to the unethical treatment
High blood pressure causes vary from person to person. Some of the main causes of high blood pressure are genetics, diet, family history, weight, and use of too much salt. Genetics and family history of high blood pressure go hand in hand. Since family members share lifestyles and genes, that can influence their risk for this disease. Some characteristics that are out of your control that can affect the risk for high blood pressure include, age, race, or ethnicity. Although African Americans develop high blood pressure more often than Whites, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, and Alaska Natives, the lifestyle one lives can
Hypertension is a condition of the heart where excessive amount of pressure is introduced in the blood vessels. The excessive pressure created in the blood vessels causes a lot of damage to the vessels and can lead to serious complications. This condition can affect everybody but the chances of acquiring these diseases are high in older people. Specific for Hispanics, they stand a higher chance of developing hypertension than other lineages in America. Some of the diseases they are prone to are cardiovascular, obesity in young people and diabetes.
Keywords: socioeconomic status (SES), cardiovascular disease (CVD), African American, risk factors, social determinants, and health disparities, institutionalized racism.
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.
Hypertension is the medical term for high blood pressure. A normal blood pressure is 120/80. A blood pressure reading higher or equal to 140/90 is considered abnormally high. Elevated blood pressure means your heart is working harder than normal, putting both your heart and arteries under great strain. High blood pressure is serious business.
The heart pumps blood into the arteries and the force of the blood pushing against blood vessel walls is called blood pressure. Arteries carry the blood throughout the body. High blood pressure is also know as hypertension and is very dangerous in many different ways. One way is that it makes the heart have to work harder in order to pump the blood to the body. Secondly it contributes to hardening of the arteries and lastly, it also contributes to heart failure. A healthy heart is essential to life and having high blood pressure it not healthy for the heart. It has been proven that there are many different causes that have been linked to high blood pressure.
Although gross medical advancements have allowed the human population to live longer and fuller lives without the threat of death from infectious diseases, it is apparent that we are now dealing with a different phenomenon that may be just as harmful to our health. The impact of psychological, social and environmental factors from our daily lives is having a drastic impression on the mental and physical wellbeing of our society. It has been shown in various studies that psychological and neurological factors influence the immune system and can have an effect on our health (Breedlove, Rosenzweig & Watson, 2010). As we allow various stressors, poisonous substances, unhealthy diets and lack of rest to overwhelm our existence, we are
The purpose of this report is two discuss the Pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, proposed benefits, research method, results of research, and possible-nursing implications of newly approved drugs for the treatment of hypertension. These drugs include Atacand HCT and Diltiazem HCL. All newly approved drugs from the FDA are either new drugs or new formulations of older drugs. The information contained in this report was derived from various web pages and online search engines.
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