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More black women have high blood pressure than black men and white men andwomen, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality andOutcomes.

Ina study of 70,000 people in the 12 southeastern states referred to as "TheStroke Belt" because of higherincidences therate among black women was 64 percent,while it was 52 percent in white women and 51 percent in black and white men.

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"Formany years, the focus for high blood pressure was on middle-aged men whosmoked; now we know better," said Uchechukwu K. A. Sampson, M.D., M.P.H.,M.B.A., study author and assistant professor of medicine at VanderbiltUniversity Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn. "We should look for it ineveryone and it should be treated aggressively especially in women, who havetraditionally gotten less attention in this regard."

Morethan 77 million American adults have higher than 140/90 millimeters ofmercury and it's undertreated and underdiagnosed among all races and genders,researchers said.

Researchers also found:

Fifty-seven percent of thepeople studied were diagnosed with high blood pressure.Blacks were twice aslikely as whites to have uncontrolled high blood pressure.Among those who had highblood pressure, 31 percent of black men didn't know it; 28 percent of blackwomen; 27 percent of white men; and 17 percent of white women.High blood pressure wasmore common in blacks (59 percent) than whites (52 percent).Men were more likely tohave uncontrolled high blood pressure than women.Among those who knew theyhad high blood pressure, 82 percent were being treated with medications.Among people who knew they had high blood pressure, 44 percent weretaking at least two types of medicines, and only 29 percent were on a diuretic a recommended first-line medication to lower their blood pressure.

"Wehave so many medications and evidenced-based treatments, but we still face thisproblem," Sampson said.

He suggested these solutions:

An emphasis on determiningthe barriers associated with poor uptake of treatment guidelines.Screen everyone regularlyand follow.Increase funding forprograms that increase use of effective medications, and encourage healthiereating and more exercise.Ask about your blood pressure at each annual check-up. If it's high,check your blood pressure daily between appointments at home or at a pharmacy and follow up frequently with the doctor to ensure it's at a safe level.

Co-authorsare Todd L. Edwards, Ph.D.; Eiman Jahangir, M.D.; Heather Munro, M.S.; MinabaWariboko, M.D.; Mariam G. Wassef, D.O.; Sergio Fazio, M.D., Ph.D.; George A.Mensah, M.D.; Edmond K. Kabagambe, Ph.D.; William J. Blot, Ph.D.; and LorenLipworth, Sc.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

PepsiCoInc. and the National Cancer Institute funded the study. Dr. Sampson's work wassupported in part by the Harold Amos Medical Faculty Award of the Robert WoodJohnson Foundation.

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