Minorities Less Likely to Have Blood Pressure Under Control
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Blacks and Hispanics with a history of stroke or coronary artery disease have higher blood pressure than whites, while Hispanics are less likely to be prescribed medications to control it, a new U.S. study shows.
About 63 percent of whites, 58 percent of Hispanics and 40 percent of blacks had blood pressure readings that fell within national guidelines, the researchers found.
"There was a significant disparity in achievement of blood pressure goals among African Americans as compared to whites or Hispanics," said senior study author Dr. Nerses Sanossian, associate director of the Stroke Center at University of Southern California.
The study was to be presented Wednesday at the American Heart Association's High Blood Pressure Research Conference in Chicago.
Researchers evaluated data on blood pressure levels from 517 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey who reported having had either a stroke or coronary artery disease. About 12 percent of participants were Hispanic and 25 percent were black.
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