News - Hypertension Week of March 16, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 11

First Guidelines Issued for Treating Hypertension in Blacks

Providers should act more aggressively to lower the blood pressure of African Americans with hypertension, according to the first ever set of guidelines targeted at this group.

Issued by the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHB) and medical experts across the nation, the guidelines appear in the March 10 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

African Americans are significantly more likely to die of high blood pressure than members of the general public because current treatment strategies have primarily been unsuccessful.

The recommendations urge health care providers to manage high blood pressure in African Americans in three new ways:

• Starting many on at least two anti-hypertensive medications;
• Targeting a blood pressure goal of 130/80 mm Hg;
• Suggesting that those with diabetes receive kidney-disease-slowing medications such as ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers as part of their medication combination.
  

The recommendations are endorsed by the American Heart Association, the Association of Black Cardiologists, the Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control and the National Medical Association.

ISHIB also urged health care providers to recommend that their patients engage regularly in appropriate exercise, moderate their alcohol intake and avoid tobacco. In addition, ISHIB has endorsed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and fiber.

Dr. Elijah Saunders, a founder of ISHIB and the hypertension chief at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, said the guidance is clear: assess patients' risk for heart and kidney disease, follow the DASH diet and prescribe a combination of medications to get to the recommended blood pressure level.

"Our hope is that these recommendations will help health care providers save the lives of thousands of African Americans with high blood pressure," Saunders said.

Other sources: International Society on Hypertension in Blacks