Why Is Hypertension Commoner In Blacks Than Whites?
A. Although blacks in the United States have consistently higher blood pressure than whites, this pattern is not the same in all other countries. In Africa , blood pressure tends to be relatively low in rural areas, and high in the cities. And a study of factory workers in Birmingham , England , found no difference in the pressures of black and white workers. A group that is at particular risk of developing high blood pressure (in England just as much as in the United States ) is black women, in whom obesity plays a major role. Since these populations share a common African origin and the same genetic background it is unlikely that heredity can account for all of the racial differences seen in the US . Nonetheless, heredity is an important cause of high blood pressure in blacks just as in whites, so if you’re black and both your parents have high blood pressure, you have an increased chance of getting it yourself.
