African American Hypertension Research Paper

Blood pressure measurements on adult males 30-39 years of age were obtained in a survey of a representative sample of Twin Cities households. To compare the frequency of hypertension in the white and non-white population surveyed, the most appropriate measure is the

African Americans are twice as likely to die of an illness such as cancer and heart disease as well as, less likely to have health access compared to any other race. African Americans are yet subject to racial discrimination and stereotypes in the health care, that leads them without the correct health screenings and treatments. The root of these racial disparities connects with the intersectionality of race, class, gender and education.

There are also other racial health factors mainly about African Americans versus Whites. African Americans have more chronic health problems than other groups as well as coronary heart disease. The factors that contribute to these are higher smoking, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. This can be related to being easily targeted for destressors. Blacks can have higher smoking due to how cotinine is processed and “found at a higher level in the blood of blacks than of white” and their preference for menthol cigarettes.

Within the contemporary generation today, many fundamental factors such as social, environmental, biological and epigenetics play significant roles towards understanding the connection between humans and their health. For example, race-based health disparities can be witnessed within society especially considering different health related diseases such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, stroke etc (Kuzawa and Sweet 2). Furthermore, prior to reading the article, Epigenetics and the Embodiment of Race: Developmental Origins of US Racial Disparities in Cardiovascular Health I was quite unfamiliar with the concept of health disparity within the racial norm of the society. For instance, an African American man in Harlem is less likely than

Throughout history, many conflicts have arisen from the differences between races and ethnicities. These conflicts have resulted from one population, historically the white American population, wanting more power over another population, more often the African American population. From these power struggles, racism and discrimination developed and were even more strengthened from the development of slavery in the US and further on with segregation in the 1900s. From slavery, segregation, and racism, health disparities developed in the African American population that have continued to this day. African Americans generally have a shorter life expectancy than whites, but a recent discovery, entitled the minority crossover, has changed the understanding of health disparities in elderly populations. The minority crossover phenomenon refers to the growing elderly African American population and increase in life expectancy of this group over white Americans.

As we can see men experience life threatening illnesses that develop with age (Ross, Masters, & Hummer, 2012). However, research shows that today men are closing the longevity gap and living just as long as women. Race plays quite a role in the mortality of men. For instance, white men not having a postgraduate degree greatly effects their life expectancy. A white male without a high school education lowers his life expectancy by three years (Cockerham, 1982). Black and Hispanic men who had a college education had better life expectancy than less educated white men and their colleagues. The mortality rates between blacks and whites is indicated to be approximately 3.8 years (Firebaugh, Acciai, Noah, Prather, & Nau, 2014). It is unclear as of

Among the different ethnic and socioeconomic groups, each is associated with health disadvantages. While some have more advantages than others, the most disadvantaged groups are among the Blacks and Native Americans. These two groups have the highest rates of several health disparities. The two groups, Blacks, and Native Americans have the highest rates in infant mortality and cardiovascular disease. Research has shown several key risk factors that are associated with these high rates. Some include poor environment, lack of access to care, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and high blood pressure. These health disparities and disadvantages are what causes Blacks and Native Americans to have higher mortality rates.

“At age 65, white men in the highest-income families can expect to live 3.1 years longer than white men in the lowest-income families” (Tischler 383). Life expectancies varies among racial groups due to different leading causes of death in each race and the different incomes available to a group. According to several studies, African Americans are at a greater risk of dying from heart disease than whites, while whites are at a greater risk than Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans. Large racial and ethnic disparities exist in health due to poverty rates, diet, biological differences, and location. On a greater scale, minority groups tend to have less of an income than whites, which affect the type of medical care available for them. Also, dietary habits varies among racial groups. The African American culture consists of generally fattening food dating to centuries ago and is still persistent today. A Latino diet consists of beans, grains, and other less fattening foods. However, currently many of these racial groups begin to adapt to American diets that worsen their

According to the office of the minority health, approximately 48% of African American women and 44% of African American men suffer from some form of the cardiovascular disease which includes heart disease and stroke and adults are 40 percent more likely to have high blood pressure while the women are 1.6 times more likely to die from heart diseases and complications than other ethnic groups (The Office of Minority Health, 2016).

Hypertension is a major health condition which affects many Americans. This health condition may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. A normal blood pressure consists of systolic blood pressure divided by diastolic blood pressure, 120/80mmHg (millimeters of mercury). High blood pressure is defined as systolic pressure which is greater than 140mm Hg, and diastolic pressure which is over 90mm Hg. Hypertension influences the health outcomes of black Americans more than other races in the United States. Racial discrimination and socioeconomic status are two major factors which influence the rate of high blood pressure in the black American population.

The American Medical Journal explains that the heart disease is one of the deadliest medical conditions. Medical experts reckon that heart disease is a lifestyle disease, which emanates from excessive consumption of the wrong dietary combination. Foods such as fats and carbohydrates often expose individuals to the threat of heart disease. Consuming fast foods from McDonalds also expose people to the threat of heart disease. The most plausible means of mitigating the risk of contacting heart disease is by observing dietary combination. Individuals must keep a balanced diet always in order to avoid dietary concerns later on in life. The most common symptoms include chest discomfort, nausea, trouble sleeping, breathing problems, and unusual tiredness.

At the point when contrasted with whites, these minority bunches have higher rate of endless ailment, higher mortality and poor wellbeing results. Among the ailment particular cases of racial and ethnic variations in the united state is the tumor frequency rate among African Americans, which is 10% higher than among whites. Furthermore, grown up African Americans and Latinos have roughly double the danger as whites of creating diabetes. Minority likewise have higher rate of cardiovascular sickness, HIV/AIDS, newborn child mortality than whites.

Hypertension (HTN) is a major public health issue affecting 70 million African-American males in the United States (CDC,2015) and predisposing them to cardiovascular diseases (Scranton, Goldstein, & Stecher, 2013). The WHO (2013) defines HTN as a systolic blood pressure of equal or greater than 140 mm/Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of equal or greater than 90 mm/ Hg. In addition, a large portion of patient’s diagnosed with HTN also have a diagnosis of erectile dysfunction (ED), both of which when left untreated can have a negative impact on quality of life. ED has been defined by Adebusoye et al., (2012), the lack of sufficient sexual intercourse due to inability of a penile erection in male. Compounding the high incidence of HTN and ED among African-American males, is the problem of non-adherence to prescribed anti-hypertensive medications. Real or perceived ED associated with the adverse side effects of anti-hypertensive medications is a chief reason for non-adherence to anti-hypertensive medications among males (Kakkavas et al., 2013). This research study will use The Health Belief Model to investigate the correlation between African-American males with dual diagnoses’ of HTN and ED who are non-adherent to anti-hypertensive medications. More specifically, this study will scrutinize the adverse side effects of anti-hypertensive medications in relation to complications of untreated HTN, one of which is ED. The results of this study could be used to educate

In response to Descartes power Point “The factors of hypertension in African Americans” Descartes started by comparing the effect of hypertension (high blood pressure) in African American from their white counterparts. She clearly explained the different kind of hypertension, essential(primary) which she clearly noted affects about 90-95% of hypertensive patients with no known secondary cause. The lesser secondary hypertension that affects 1-5% of patients and is caused by stress and other problems.

High blood pressure (HBP) is amongst one of the most prevalent chronic illnesses in the United States today. The MOC has created the survey to monitor the growing number of patients that can and are facing this issue in the community of Gainesville, as it can lead to other cardiovascular diseases, such as heart attacks, heart failure and strokes.