Women's Health Project: Fact Sheets

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African American Women and High Blood Pressure

• Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a serious health condition that can lead to stroke, heart disease, kidney failure and other health problems. As blood flows from the heart out to the blood vessels, it creates pressure against the blood vessel walls. A blood pressure reading is a measure of this pressure. When that reading goes above a certain point, it is called high blood pressure.

• High blood pressure affects about one-third of all African American women.

• African American women have high blood pressure more often than Caucasian and Hispanic women. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 34.2% of the black, non-Hispanic female population between 1998 and 1994 had hypertension, while only 22.0% of Hispanic women and 19.3% of white, non-Hispanic women had hypertension during this time.

• African American women also are more likely to have serious problems as a result of their high blood pressure than Caucasian women are. These serious problems include stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure.

• As many as 20 percent of African American women with high blood pressure will die as a result of their high blood pressure.

• About 27% of the African American population with high blood pressure is unaware that they have this condition.

• Important lifestyle changes necessary to lower high blood pressure include increasing exercise, losing weight if overweight or obese, moderating alcohol intake, and eating a low-salt diet.

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Sources:

High Blood Pressure in African American Women, National Women's Health Information Center

Cardiovascular Diseases, American Heart Association

Posted Sept. 10, 2002