Race and Anti-hypertensive Medications

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer notes that hypertension is a prevalent cardiovascular condition among American adults, with one third of adults in the United States being afflicted. The writer discusses that the prevalence of hypertension varies across racial groups, with African Americans being the most disproportionately affected in comparison to Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites. In general, African Americans experience a shorter life expectancy than white Americans, and this may be due to the greater organ damage experienced by this population as a result of earlier onset of high blood pressure and high severity of hypertension. The writer maintains that, due to the greater prevalence of hypertension among the African-American population, it is crucial that attention be paid to treatments and preventions that are most optimal for this population.

From the Paper:

"Brewster, van Montfrans, and Kleijnen systematically reviewed the effectiveness of various antihypertensive drugs in the reduction of blood pressure, morbidity, and mortality among African American adults with hypertension. Their investigation was conducted through a search of medical research databases, including MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, PubMed, African Index Medicus, and the Cochrane Library. The results yielded from this investigation indicated that the effectiveness of beta-blockers and ACE inhibitors in reducing hypertension did not differ significantly from effects of a placebo. Other reviewed drugs such as calcium channel blockers, diuretics, central sympatholtics, alpha-blockers, and angiotensin II receptor blockers were demonstrated as more effective than placebos in reducing hypertension among African Americans. However, this investigation demonstrated that there were no significant differences in morbidity and mortality outcomes between treatment groups."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Brewster, L.M., van Montfrans, G.A., Kleijnen, J. (2004). Systematic Review: antihypertensive drug therapy in black patients. Annals of Internal Medicine, 141(8), 614-27.
• Ferdinand, K.C., Saunders, E. (2006). Hypertension-related morbidity and mortality in African Americans - why we need to do better. Journal of Clinical Hypertension, 8 (Suppl. 1), 21-30.
• Flack, J.M., and Hamaty, M. (1999). Difficult to treat hypertensive populations: focus on African- Americans and people with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Hypertension. Supplement, 17(1), S19-24.
• McDowell, S.E., Coleman, J.J., Ferner, R.E. (2006). Systematic review and meta-analysis of ethnic differences in risks of adverse reactions to drugs used in cardiovascular medicine. British Medical Journal, 332, 1177-81.
• Menon, S., Berezny, K.Y., Kilaru, R., Benjamin, D.K., Kay, J.D., Hazan, L., Portman, R., Hogg, R., Deitchman, D., Califf, R.M., Li, J.S. (2006). Racial differences are seen in blood pressure response to fosinipril in hypertensive children. American Heart Journal, 152(2), 394-9.

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