Why High Blood Pressure Is Common in Black Americans (and What to Do About It)
Cardiologist David Anstey, MD, breaks down how Black and African Americans can take steps to lower their high blood pressure.
Conversations about centuries of systemic racism have continued to become more mainstream. When you understand the different barriers that Black Americans deal with in medical care, it’s not too surprising that high blood pressure is more common in this demographic than in the general population.
“Unfortunately, [high blood pressure in Black Americans] is something that's been going on since the 1960s,” if not before, says David E. Anstey, MD, MPH, cardiologist at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center. “We've known about this for a very long time, so it's on all of us to really start to make changes to help reduce our blood pressure and improve our health.”
- D. Edmund Anstey MD, MPHD. Edmund Anstey, MD, MPH, is a cardiologist practicing in New York City.
References
American College of Cardiology. (2020). Racial Disparities in Hypertension Prevalence and Management: A Crisis Control?
American Heart Association. (n.d.). Heart Disease in African American Women.
American Heart Association. (2022). High Blood Pressure and African Americans.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Closer Look at African American Men and High Blood Pressure Control.
Fuchs, F. (2011). Why Do Black Americans Have Higher Prevalence of Hypertension? Hypertension.
Harvard Health Publishing. (2020). Discrimination, high blood pressure, and health disparities in African Americans.
Lackland, D. (2015). Racial Differences in Hypertension: Implications for High Blood Pressure Management. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. (2022). Heart Disease and African Americans.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2016). The Heart Truth® For African American Women: An Action Plan.