Hypertension In African American Culture

According to CDC Center of Disease Control nearly 70 million American adults are suffering from hypertension. According to mayo clinic staff Hypertension is condition where the force of the blood against the artery walls is high enough, which could cause health complications such as heart diseases. Blood pressure is measured by the amount of blood the heart pumps and the amount of resistance of blood flow in your arteries. The more blood the heart pumps and the narrower the arteries get, the higher the blood pressure. You could have hypertension without showing any symptoms for years, but there will be continuous damage to the blood vessels and heart. The symptoms of hypertension are headaches, shortness of breath, and nose bleeds. However, most of the people get these symptoms by the time they are on the late stages of disease. Therefore, is recommended by the doctors and healthcare providers to get blood pressure readings every six months …show more content…
There are many different ethnicities and races, and they all have their own unique culture. African American community has their own culture that sets them apart from rest of the other communities. When researches were investigating the discrepancies in hypertension between African Americans and Caucasians, they focused on their cultural differences. In one research they found that the most important point in medications adherence and coming back for more hospital appointment were communication of caring by health care providers. Also, “the relationship that evolved over time between patient and provider that included an appreciation for the men’s cultural connections was important as well”. However, Many African American individuals believe that health care providers don’t have respect for their culture. Due to that many African Americans individuals have mistrust with healthcare providers. In results many of the African American patients fail to come back for their