AP, November 10, 2008
The lives of nearly 8,000 black Americans could be saved each year if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of whites, a surprising new study found. The gap between the races in controlling blood pressure is well-known, but the resulting number of lives lost startled some scientists.
“We expected it to be big, but it was even larger than we anticipated,” said the lead author, Dr. Kevin Fiscella of the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry.
The study, released Monday in the Annals of Family Medicine, is being called the first to calculate the lives lost due to racial disparities in blood pressure control.
Fiscella said he believes steps can be taken to erase that gap. But a second article in the same journal found that racial differences in blood pressure treatment persisted in England despite a national health system that provides equal access to care.
Doctors may not be providing proper care, but some black patients may not be taking prescribed medicines or following medical advice, said Christopher Millett of the Imperial College of London.
{snip}
The study suggesting 8,000 black lives are lost due to uncontrolled blood pressure is based on earlier research that finds that about 40 percent of black adults have high blood pressure, compared with about 30 percent of whites.
Fiscella and his colleague, Kathleen Holt, made a series of calculations. They took estimates of how each point of increased blood pressure affects the likelihood of death, and put it in a formula that included the difference in black and white blood pressure readings.
Those differences caused about 5,500 extra deaths from heart disease and about 2,200 deaths from stroke each year.
The second study, done in England, looked at the electronic medical records of about 8,900 patients in southwest London, who are covered by that country’s national health insurance system.
Researchers found black patients with high blood pressure had significantly higher readings than white or Asian patients, even though blacks were prescribed more medications.
The researchers also looked at patients who were sick with one or more conditions like heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. They found that blood pressure control was much worse in blacks than whites.
Patients’ failure to regularly take their medicine may be one factor. Another may be that certain medications work better for blacks, but some doctors may be overlooking that difference, said Millett, a consultant in public health for Imperial College.
{snip}
[Editor’s Note: “Racial Disparity in Hypertension Control: Tallying the Death Toll,” by Kevin Fiscella and Kathleen Holt, “Ethnic Disparities in Blood Pressure Management in Patients With Hypertension After the Introduction of Pay for Performance,” by Christopher Millett, Jeremy Gray, Alex Bottle, and Azeem Majeed, and “Examining Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health and Hypertension Control,” by David Satcher (an editorial on the two studies) are all available as HTML or PDF files together with tables and appendices here.
Original article
(Posted on November 11, 2008)
Reuters, November 10, 2008
In a multi-ethnic population-based group of 3,303 adults, half of whom were African American, a low potassium level in the urine correlated with high blood pressure, regardless of the level of salt (sodium) in the diet or cardiovascular risk factors.
This observation “supports the hypothesis that dietary potassium deficiency plays an important role in the development of high blood pressure,” Dr. Susan Hedayati, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told Reuters Health.
“The association was stronger in African Americans than non-African Americans,” which suggests possible racial differences in the development of high blood pressure, also referred to as hypertension, and its relationship with to potassium levels in the diet, added Hedayati, who reported the findings over the weekend at the American Society of Nephrology’s annual meeting in Philadelphia.
The overall prevalence of hypertension was 36 percent. In addition to having lower levels of potassium in the urine, individuals with hypertension were older, heavier and more likely to be African American. Hypertensive subjects also had lower glomerular filtration rates, which correlates with poor kidney function.
{snip}
Original article
Comments
Okay, if, ceteris paribus, blacks have higher blood pressure than whites, racio-genetic explanations cannot be possible, because as we know, there’s no such thing as race. Therefore, the only recourse is for the ADL, SPLC and USDOJ to bring a civil rights lawsuit against the human circulatory system.
Or, maybe, Harrison Bergeron-like, we have to stress out more white people.
Everybody with any sense knows blood pressure is racist.
Don’t worry. With the coming national health insurance, you will be able to pay for the medical treatment of these millions of inactive, overweight people. It will give you a warm feeling inside to know that you are helping them all get their prescription drugs for free, every year of their lives until they die.
“if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of whites”
I suspect it has to do with habits and lifestyle, and if it doesn’t, I’m sure the “professionals” will find a way to explain how these physical differences are just a social construct.
“…some black patients may not be taking prescribed medicines or following medical advice, said Christopher Millett of the Imperial College of London.”
Blacks are unable to follow instructions or follow a pattern of responsible behavior.
Nevertheless, the Marxist crazies on the Left will not be able to accept the truth.
The federal government should dump more money on blacks to solve this problem to make them equal in health with whites along with the hundreds of millions of other problems they have.(the underlying social agenda of the article)
They have high blood pressure because of bad habits . I worked at Suwannee Store in the sixties and our black customers were carrying out 5 gallon buckets of lard as fast as we could restock . My own family started using vegetable shortening in the fifties not because it was healthy but because it was cheaper . They never stopped . Two years later I was delivering furniture . When we delivered a stove to a black family, the old one would be an inch thick with grease . Just a few years back a black friend of mine wanted me open an eatery with him , he wanted to pour the sausage grease back into the biscuit dough . God rest his soul , he was out of here before he hit sixty—- high blood pressure .
I can tell you why. It’s because Blacks with high blood pressure are more likely to eat fried foods, drink, not take their meds and do whatever they want. It’s the same reason they get AIDS and STD’s more. They don’t look after their health as much and do what they want. A Black can have a blood pressure measurement of over 200 and they’ll still be at Popeye’s polishing off a big, greasy bucket of chicken complete with a side of mashed potatoes and gravey and a buttery biscuit. Of course, the MSM won’t accept this, it will be all whitey’s fault like it always is.
Oh those evil “white supremacists”! They probably sit around in groups, beaming high blood pressure thought waves at poor black people to make them die quicker.
It’s the only explanation as science has proved beyond a doubt that there is no such thing as race, except when blacks want special treatment in which case it temporarally does, but really it doesn’t. Er…
Many blacks and Hispanics seem to have the propensity for being overweight. I would say that is the leading cause of high blood pressure in minorities along with poor diet. There may be a genetic component but It is a basically a lifestyle choice.
Of course it will be blamed on the stresses of living in a racist society. (I thought that ended on Nov 4, 2008)
When a person is fifty to three hundred pounds overweight the chances of pretty good that he or she will also have high blood pressure.
But even skinny African Americans have a tendency for high blood pressure; but, to suggest that the difference between the races has a genetic component, well, you already know where that would lead.
MoMo
First of all this is not the first study to look at differences in death rates with regard to blood pressure. The study authors are uninformed or lying.
Second, a major cause of high blood pressure is the care one had in the womb. If blacks, as a class, have less pre-natal care they will tend to have higher blood pressure as adults, even if they are currently getting the same care. You can not blame them in this regard.
Third, fried foods are dangerous, period. It is commonly assumed that African Americans eat more bar-b-que than others. These fried foods are loaded with AGE products that diminish the elasticity of the arteries. This cultural trait needs to be considered and dietary practices need to be modified through what ever means possible. It is really not ok to eat bar-b-que or other fried foods.
Fourth, stress and discrimination can lead to high blood pressure. Instead of blaming the victim, let’s help build a better society that treats people fairly helps people to build better lives, neighborhoods and communities. There seems to be a lot of people trying to tear people down. Let’s stop doing that, please.
Genes matter.
“Low potassium?”
No problem; eat bananas. I can’t stand the thready fibers in them myself, so I take a vitamin supplement, just for the potassium.
Perhaps the government should approach this perceived “problem” from the other direction: raise the blood pressure of whites who eat healthy foods. I propose making network television more insipid than it already is, dumbing-down broadcast commercial ads and making them more infuriating, and - just in case whites stop watching TV the way I did, raising taxes. This way, everyone will be equal, which at last report is why we have government.
I suppose time horizon and future planning plays into this health issue. Denying your taste buds today for better health tommorrow requires discipline and foresight. Many of us fall short. Ghetto type blacks (along with many poor whites, let’s be real here) seem to be especially lacking in these traits.
They do last long enough to pass on sufficient hungry mouth, low IQ genes to keep KFC and McDonald’s in business.
They are obviously using white people as the standard by which other races should be measured. Isn’t this what they call “racism”? I mean, if they were as concerned about white/Asian women suffering from osteoporosis at higher rates than black women - then perhaps their views could be regarded as balanced. But no! They want all other races to be the same as whites.
“Fourth, stress and discrimination can lead to high blood pressure. Instead of blaming the victim, let’s help build a better society that treats people fairly helps people to build better lives, neighborhoods and communities. There seems to be a lot of people trying to tear people down”
You are so right Bob.
Stress and discrimination does lead to high blood pressure. Mine remained steady at 150 all those years I was forced to work with incompetent, aggressive, domineering, arguing, hateful black women who got affirmative action jobs in my government agency.
Within a month of retirement and being away from that horrible environment created by affirmativeaction black women my blood pressure went down to around 120. It has remained between 116 and 120 ever since, without medication, losing weight, or a change in eating habits.
Just being around blacks with their arguing, fighting, trouble and turmoil causes high blood pressure.
I remember one of my supervisors. About 3 times a month she would get a call at work that her no good son had been arrested.
They should do an experiment. Place blacks with high blood pressure in a white or asian environment for a while and see what happens. I bet that in a calm, quiet, efficient environment their blood pressure would drop significantly.
By the way, I still use bacon grease in cooking. It’s an old southern custom. I’m now 66 and my blood pressure hovers between 116 and 120.
“The lives of nearly 8,000 black Americans could be saved each year if doctors could figure out a way to bring their average blood pressure down to the average level of whites”
“Doctors may not be providing proper care, but some black patients may not be taking prescribed medicines or following medical advice”
Either it’s 1) genetic, 2) life style, or 3) a combination of both.
You can’t change your genes but you can change your life style and follow your doctors advice both of which would likely shrink the gap. The problem is that too many blacks and whites want an easy fix found in a pill.
Recently, I saw a report about the rise of ashma among blacks. The doctors interviewed minority patients who couldn’t identify risk factors. Upon visiting their homes, doctors discovered unsanitary living conditions such as accumulated dust and untreated mold.
Patient, heal thyself.
Blacks also suffer a much higher homicide rate than other races, practically always at the hands of other blacks. They also suffer from a higher rate of violent assault, also at the hands of blacks. They suffer many times the incarceration rate of whites also, because they commit felonies at many times the rate of whites and Asians.
These poor people, they just seem to suffer so much self-inflicted injury, pain, disease, and general misfortune. There must be something we can for them. Umm, hey, we just have! We just put one in the White House!
Reply to BOB at 9:51 AM on November 12:
1) Your evidence that the study is a “lie” or “misinformed”?
2) While the black embryo cannot be blamed, I don’t see why the black parent(s) cannot be blamed for not getting proper medical care.
3) Blacks are responsible for their own dietary choices and if they choose badly they must suffer the consequences. If I CHOOSE to abuse alcohol I must accept the possibility of getting cirrohsis of the liver, no? Why is this anyone’s fault but my own?
4) Your last point is ambiguous and does not explain anything. Are not Whites victimized by violent crime at a rate that can only be described as a tsunami? See the COLOR OF CRIME.
“Fourth, stress and discrimination can lead to high blood pressure. Instead of blaming the victim, let’s help build a better society that treats people fairly helps people to build better lives, neighborhoods and communities.”
Let’s see Bob, our society has spent billions on social welfare for Blacks and has favored them when it comes to government aid, college admissions and jobs. How much more can we do for them????
Ooops. Two Bobs on here. I’m Bob 10:32—“Genes matter.” And, the point stands. Many Blacks have a genetic “weakness” relating to the heart, veins and arteries—and, by extension, blood pressure. It’s their Achilles tendon.
Most police departments now forbid officers from using sleeper holds on suspects because too many blacks were dying as a result of pressure being put on their carotid arteries and jugular veins (pressure on the sides of their necks, but also on the front and back). Such holds usually don’t seriously injure Whites unless the cop has gone really overboard.
So, because no one is supposed to notice racial differences, a perfectly good compliance hold had to be stopped for all races when it was really dangerous just for Blacks.
Reply to 4:11 PM on November 12th poster;
“Just being around blacks with their arguing, fighting, trouble and turmoil causes high blood pressure”,,,
Your post friend describes my work situation bang on. I too work with a pack of utterly useless affirmative action blacks. They all have chaotic and crazy personal lives and they don’t have the professionalism or maturity to keep it out of the office. Working with them has been a nightmare for me and DID raise my blood pressure. Finally some of the worst of them went off on long-term “disability” (they now get paid for nothing, but then again they did nothing at work anyways) and my situation is a bit better.
Anonymous at 4:11 PM Nov. 12: Just being around blacks with their arguing, fighting, trouble and turmoil causes high blood pressure.
Quite true. It’s the “fight or flight” instinct that is hard-wired into every living thing. Being around blacks, or just seeing one approaching on the street, automatically sparks the same anxiety as encountering a rattlesnake, snarling dog or (here in Florida, at least) alligator. But since you can’t kill them or drive them off (fight) or walk away from them at the office (flight), adrenaline continues to pump, stress continues and blood pressure rises.
It would be interesting to see a study of blood pressure levels in all-white towns vs. black-infested towns of the same size. Of course, for obvious reasons no such study will ever take place.
genes matter:http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3182290
