Is Blood Pressure Treatment Color-Blind?
Though nearly one in three American adults has high blood pressure,one in three American adults has high blood pressure, the figure is closer to one in two for African-Americans. Because of this, the American Heart Association and other health groups recommend more aggressive blood pressure treatment for African-Americans than for other racial groups. The normal goal of treatment is to reduce blood pressure to below 140/90. But the goal for African-Americans is now 130/80. In the newly published study, researchers analyzed data from a subgroup of participants in the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT). Their goal was to look at the risk of heart disease and death from heart disease in African-Americans with high blood pressure taking one of the three commonly prescribed medications. When first published in 2002, ALLHAT challenged the pervasive thinking that newer blood pressure drugs worked better to treat high blood pressure and prevent
