Whether Blacks Have Higher Rates of Hypertension as Compared to White Races?

One of the most popular classifications of human beings is by their race. People of different races are associated with specific origins; the United States of America is one of the unique countries with a population that can be classified into six races. Hypertension is also referred to as high blood pressure. It refers to the abnormally high pressure of the blood that often leads to cardiovascular diseases in the long run. According to (Smedley et al., n.d.), racial differences in health is a topic that always crops up when health outcomes like stroke, diabetes, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and HIV/AIDS are discussed. The racial difference in hypertension has been a point of discussion for decades. Whereas some people believe that blacks have higher rates of hypertension as compared to the white races; there are others who refute this statement. I firmly believe that there is racial disparity when it comes to hypertension with the blacks at a higher risk to contracting the disease before the age of 55 as compared to the whites because of salt sensitivity, body mass, genetic factors, and environmental factors.

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Firstly, the African-Americans have higher salt sensitivity than the whites thus making them to have high cases of hypertension than the whites. Medical research has, however, established that the whites and the blacks have different salt sensitivity despite the fact of having a similar prevalence. The difference lies in not only the intake of salt but the handling as well. According to Hertz et al. (2005), the bodies of the blacks are believed to hold and retain more salt as compared to the whites and thus cause them to have higher incidences of high blood pressure than the whites. Oprah Winfrey in her show in 2007 had indicated that the African-Americans have higher instances of high blood pressure because it is only the ancestors had more salts in the body had survived the Middle Passage. "Oprah promptly replied that Africans who survived the slave trade's Middle Passage "were those who could hold more salt in their bodies" (Smedley et al., n.d., p.1). Since most blacks under the age of 30 can retain more salt and potassium in their bodies, this has resulted in increased blood pressure and thus hypertension.

Secondly, the body mass is another reason that informs my stand on this hypertension issue between the whites and blacks. "Compared with whites, blacks are more likely to have hypertension, more likely to be aware of it, and more likely to be pharmacologically treated, but less likely to achieve BP control while receiving treatment" (Hertz et al., 2005, p. 2103). The body mass is obtained by dividing the weight of a person in kilogram by the square of the height in the SI unit. The blacks generally have higher body mass than the whites. The blacks thus have higher incidences of overweight and obesity at various ages. The fact that the weight and height of the blacks are not proportional as compared to the whites is another reason that makes me support the statement actively. "In those aged 40 to 59 years, non-Hispanic black men and women had lower rates of hypertension control than non-Hispanic whites" (Hajjar & Kotchen, 2003, p. 203). This is another reason why high blood pressure is prevalent in the blacks under the age of 55 as compared to the whites.

Thirdly, the genetic makeup of the blacks and whites is a little different and thus leading to a racial disparity when it comes to high blood pressure. "African Americans today are afflicted by hypertension at nearly twice the rate of whites because of the genes passed on by their ancestors, genes that favored salt retention and which in turn can cause high blood pressure" (Smedley et al., n.d., p. 1). The blacks are believed to have a gene that the whites do not have that enhances the chances of them contracting high blood pressure before the age of 55 (Somerville, 1994). The blacks do not respond appropriately to the hypertension drugs as compared to the whites which make them more susceptible to high blood pressure than the whites.

Last but not least, the blacks in the United States are more prone to blood pressure than the whites because of the environmental factors. It is important to note the blacks in other parts of the world like Africa are also less likely to suffer from high blood pressure as compared to the African Americans. The blacks in Africa have similar statistics of hypertension as compared to the whites. 41 percent of blacks in the United States are believed to suffer from hypertension against 27 percent who are whites. "The unique experiences that the African-Americans experience in the United States are considered to be the leading cause of stress which is one of the reasons for hypertension" (Hajjar & Kotchen, 2003, p. 200).

We have, however, those who reject this notion that the blacks under the age of 55 have higher rates of hypertension as compared to the Caucasians. These views are held mostly by religious leaders, human rights activists, and a section of African-Americans. The religious leaders point out to the fact that we were born in God's image and such statements are only meant to portray some races as more superior to the others. They allege that incidences of high blood pressure are prevalent in all the groups of people regardless of race and are caused by factors such as consumption of foods with high levels of salts and cholesterol. This is a simplistic argument that should not be tolerated in this modern age and time. Scientific research has revealed otherwise and should form the basis of our information on this issue and not theories that are being led by some religious leaders and human rights activists with no factual backing.

Given the history of the blacks and the higher prevalence rates of hypertension as compared to the whites, there is a need to engage in scientific knowledge-production. Participating in scientific knowledge-production is the ideal way of finding a solution to this problem that has resulted in the premature death of many African Americans. The African Americans are said to have a low renin profile which is further weakened by the renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (Somerville, 1994). Further scientific research is required as it will help the medics in coming up with the right treatment for blacks. "My emphasis lies in understanding the relationships between the medical/scientific discourse around sexuality and the dominant scientific discourse around race during this period, that is, scientific racism" (Somerville,1994, p. 246). Treating high blood pressure and other conditions like diabetes, chronic kidney, and cardiovascular diseases with the RAS inhibitors is challenging hence further scientific research is needed. The dynamics of the disease is continuously changing as it has developed resistance in some section of the population.

The scientific knowledge production should be done differently by making use of technology and extending the research to the blacks in the other continents. I believe this will help the researchers in unraveling the puzzle behind the increased incidences of the blacks suffering from hypertension before the age of 55. However, in the scientific knowledge-production, there is need stop the promotion and teaching of using the slavery high blood pressure hypothesis as it elicits racial reactions from the African-American who feel that they are unfairly treated in the United States. The slavery high blood pressure hypothesis is also widely used by the white supremacists who believe they are better than Africans in all fronts.

Conclusion

In conclusion, although there are people who believe that there is no racial disparity between the blacks and whites when it comes to contracting high blood pressure before the age of 55, our discourse proves otherwise. Environmental and genetic factors, body mass and salt sensitivity have nothing to do with mere coincidence. Instead of playing the victim and denying these facts, there is need of all the stakeholders to be enlightened on the same so that they take proactive measures to address this problem that is driving many blacks to their graves.

References

Hajjar, I., & Kotchen, T. A. (2003). Trends in prevalence, awareness, treatment, and control of hypertension in the United States, 1988-2000. Jama, 290(2), 199-206.

Hertz, R. P., Unger, A. N., Cornell, J. A., & Saunders, E. (2005). Racial disparities in hypertension prevalence, awareness, and management. Archives of internal medicine, 165(18), 2098-2104.

Smedley, B., Jeffries, M., Adelman, L. and Cheng, J. (n.d.). Race, Racial Inequality and Health Inequities: Separating Myth from Fact.

Somerville, S. (1994). Scientific Racism and the Emergence of the Homosexual Body. [ebook] University of Texas Press. Available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3704199 . [Accessed 10 Aug. 2012].