Hypertension and coronary heart disease are two of the largest health issues that affect Americans today. Of the two million people who suffer from heart attacks and strokes each year, more than 750,000 of them are deadly (Harvey, 1995). Yet, what is even more alarming than these statistics is the degree to which African Americans suffer from hypertension. Recent studies suggest that as “many as 71 percent of all African American adults may have high blood pressure as compared with about 60 percent of the adult white population. In fact, blacks are more than twice as likely to develop high blood pressure as whites. In addition, hypertension in Black Americans tends to appear at an earlier age and it is often not treated as aggressively as cases of hypertension in whites,” (Harvey, 1995: 1). There are different areas of research into the issue of why blacks suffer from hypertension more than Whites. There have been sociological studies that suggest that poverty and education disadvantages play a large role. Dieticians point to obesity and lifestyle habits such as smoking and lack of exercise. Geneticists suggest that it can be traced to a gene disadvantage and a higher incidence of diabetes which makes hypertension more difficult to treat. This analysis will discuss the various theories and research that attempt to explain the causes of the high degree of hypertension in the black population as opposed to the white population in the United States. A conclusion will address areas of concern for future research.
There have been some recent discoveries and new approaches taken to understanding the mystery of why blacks suffer from hypertension at a higher rate than Whites. While many believe it is a combination of social, economic, lifestyle and genetic factors, one of the latest theories focuses on the genetic connection. In a research study conducted at Wayne State University, researchers discovered a gene disadvan...