Extremely high blood pressure among African Americans is five times higher than the national average



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According to a recent Rutgers researcher study, extremely high blood pressure resulting in stroke, heart attack and acute kidney injury, five times higher in African American patients in the city center than the national average , is five times higher.

The study, which is the largest of its kind to compare the development of a hypertensive emergency in a downtown US, is published in the journal Blood Pressure.

One in three adults has high blood pressure called hypertension, with the highest rates among African Americans. In addition to being very common, high blood pressure among African Americans develops earlier in life but has a lower rate of control than other racial and ethnic groups. Above average blood pressure results in serious health complications. The study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors of high blood pressure becoming serious cases among African Americans.

"Extremely high blood pressure levels are an alarming and important health issue for the African-American population," said Irina Benenson, badistant professor at Rutgers School of Nursing. "The development of targeted interventions to control key risk factors can reduce the risk of drastic increases in blood pressure and, hence, the risk of resulting organ damage."

The researchers badyzed the medical records of 3,568 hypertensive patients treated in the emergency department of the Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, a New Jersey hospital serving primarily African American communities. Half of these patients had a severe increase in blood pressure.

The results showed that male patients aged 65 years or older, or with diabetes, heart disease or chronic kidney disease had the highest risk of developing extremely high blood pressure, which could lead to life-threatening complications, such as that a worsening of congestive heart failure and heart attack. These patients also had a significantly higher risk of developing kidney failure, a stroke, and a broken blood vessel in the brain called hemorrhagic stroke.

According to the researchers, this was also the first study to identify a low hemoglobin content as a risk factor for severe hypotension. "Anemia is common in people with high blood pressure, especially those with diabetes or kidney disease. It has been found that low hemoglobin levels contribute to a severe rise in blood pressure, but additional studies are needed to fully explain the badociation between the two, "said Benenson.

The study highlights alarming rates of very high blood pressure in African Americans and suggests that treatments to control diabetes, chronic heart and kidney disease and anemia could reduce the development of diabetes. extreme blood pressure and serious complications.

Although psychosocial stress, such as job stress, housing instability, social isolation and racism that African Americans sometimes experienced, are not part of this study. Specifically, Benenson believes that these factors could contribute to the increase in blood pressure levels in Africa. Americans.

"These factors are more common among African Americans than other racial groups and it is suggested that chronic stress can activate stress hormones that contract blood vessels and raise blood pressure. However, further studies are needed to confirm. "

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