A scientific survey on the priorities black people place on their blood pressure and cardiovascular awareness — considering heart disease and stroke are the number 1 and 3 killers of black people.
The new study, commissioned by Daiichi Sankyo, a Tokyo-based pharmaceutical company in collaboration with the Association of Black Cardiologists, finds that black people as a group have lost sight of their blood pressure and are more focused on external pressures of live, jobs, family and finances.
(For disclosure of conflicts, my smarter, younger brother is a past president of the organization but I didn’t get this from him, I swear.)
The study is part of an education campaign, “My Pressure Points,” to encourage black people to place their blood pressure and cardiovascular health at a higher priority.
African Americans are more likely to develop hypertension any other racial or ethnic group, and often to a more severe extent. High blood pressure is the trigger for heart attacks, stroke, organ failure, kidney disease, and has been linked to Alzheimers disease.
The survey found:
• External pressures in life related to jobs, family and finances coincided with neglect of high blood pressure among African Americans.
• 63 percent of African Americans with high blood pressure said they worry more about their finances than their health.
• 55 percent of the African Americans with hypertension reported that they were more stressed about their financial situation now than they were a year ago, compared to 28 percent who were feeling more anxiety about their health now than 12 months ago.
• Of the 75 percent of African Americans with high blood pressure who were aware of a family history of blood pressure before they were diagnosed, 59 percent did not take any steps to keep their blood pressure down before their own diagnosis.
• More men than women, 46 percent vs. 38 percent, who were aware of a family history made an effort to keep their blood pressure down before their own diagnosis.
• The African American women with high blood pressure were slightly more likely than their male counterparts to stress about the many pressure points in their lives, including their family, 52 percent vs. 43 percent; personal health, 57 percent vs. 48 percent; and their finances, 77 percent vs. 67 percent.
• Despite these concerns, African American women were less likely than men , 56 percent vs. 47 percent, to admit their health doesn’t receive the attention it should.