Are heart disease risk factors more common in certain racial or ethnic groups?
Yes. Black and Mexican-American women are more likely to have risk factors for heart disease than white women of similar socioeconomic status.17 Among American Indian and Alaskan Natives age 18 years or older, 61.4% of women have one or more risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, high cholesterol, obesity, or diabetes.20 High blood pressure The rate of high blood pressure in African Americans is among the highest in the world.27 Compared with white people, African Americans develop high blood pressure earlier in life and have much higher average blood pressure.28 High blood pressure appears to take a greater toll on the health of black women than white women. Black women are much more likely to visit the doctor for high blood pressure than white women. In 2003, the overall death rate from high blood pressure was nearly 3 times higher for black women than it was for white women.17 About 20% of all deaths in black women with high blood pressure may be related to their conditi
