|
 Approximately 76 percent of black adults may have high blood
pressure by age 55, compared to 55 percent of white men and 40
percent of white women, the study authors estimate.
"We need to pay attention to blood pressure at younger ages," said
lead study author S. Justin Thomas of the University of Alabama at
Birmingham.
"Prevention is critical and, particularly for blacks, we need to
emphasize a healthy lifestyle to prevent the development of
hypertension," Thomas said by email.
To minimize the risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure, people
should maintain a healthy body weight and get lots of exercise,
Thomas advised. They should also follow a diet that emphasizes
cooking with unsaturated fats, eating nuts, fruits, vegetables,
low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish and poultry, and limiting
red meat and added sugars and salt.
Obesity and a family history of high blood pressure were among the
factors associated with a higher risk of hypertension for both black
and white adults in the study, researchers report in the Journal of
the American Heart Association.
More closely following a heart-healthy diet, however, was associated
with a lower risk of hypertension for both black and white adults.
When they joined the study, between the ages of 18 and 30, none of
the 3,890 study participants had hypertension.
Over 30 years of follow up, 2,040 participants, or 52 percent,
developed high blood pressure. This included people who reported
taking medication to treat hypertension as well as participants who
had elevated blood pressure measurements during exams.
Patients were classified as having hypertension when the "top
number," known as systolic blood pressure (the pressure blood exerts
against artery walls when the heart beats), averaged at least 130
mmHG (millimeters of mercury).
They were also considered to have hypertension if the "bottom
number," known as diastolic blood pressure (the pressure against
artery walls when the heart rests between beats), averaged at least
80 mmHG.
[to top of second column] |
No matter how low their blood pressure was at the start of the
study, black adults were still more likely to develop hypertension
than whites.
For example, among participants who started out with blood pressure
of less than 110/70 mmHG, black people were almost twice as likely
to develop hypertension.
And, among people on the cusp of high blood pressure at the start of
the study, with systolic readings of 120 to 129 mmHG and diastolic
readings of 75 to 79 mmHG, blacks were 59 percent more likely to
develop hypertension.
The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to prove whether
or how race or ethnicity might influence the risk of developing
hypertension. Researchers also had data only on black and white
adults, and results might be different for other ethnic groups.
Even so, the results add to growing evidence suggesting that black
adults have an elevated risk of developing hypertension and
highlight the importance of early prevention efforts, said Dr. Clyde
Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine in Chicago.
"It is unreasonable to consider population-wide screening in young
adults but it is not unreasonable to appreciate how changes in diet
and physical activity may delay and perhaps even reduce the onset of
hypertension," Yancy, who wasn't involved in the study, said by
email. "Always better to prevent than to treat."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2zJWftN Journal of the American Heart
Association, online July 11, 2018.
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
