Hypertension Develops Early, Silently, In African-American Men :

ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2009) — Young and healthy African-American men have higher central blood pressure and their blood vessels are stiffer compared to their white counterparts, signs that the African American men are developing hypertension early and with little outward sign, according to a new study. While the study found that central blood pressure (pressure in the aorta) was higher in the African-American men, the study found no difference in brachial blood pressure (measured on the arm) between the two groups.
Tthe findings suggest that hypertension may be developing undetected in young African-American men and that measuring central blood pressure may be a better means of detecting the problem as it develops.

"Central blood pressure holds greater prognostic value than conventional brachial blood pressure as central pressure more aptly reflects the load encountered by the heart," the authors explained. "Thus, brachial blood pressure may neglect important information on cardiovascular burden and response to therapy in African-American men."

African-American men have higher levels of hypertension than white men. In 2002, hypertension was listed as a primary or contributing cause of death for 277,000 Americans. The University of Illinois researchers hypothesized that the blood vessels of the black men would show greater dysfunction than the white men, even though both groups were young and equally healthy and fit. The vascular damage they looked for included stiffening and thickening of the blood vessels. These conditions result in pulsatile (not smooth) blood flow (and at higher pressure) to organs. The pressure can damage the organs over time.

The study included 55 young men, 30 white and 25 African-American. Most were university seniors. The average age was 23. There were no differences between the groups on a variety of measures, including heart rate, cardiorespiratory fitness, body mass index, body fat, blood lipids and glucose levels.

Source: Racial differences in central blood pressure and vascular function in young men: Kevin S. Heffernan, Sae Young Jae, Kenneth R. Wilund, Jeffrey A. Woods and Bo Fernhall:
The Exercise and Cardiovascular Research Laboratory Department of Kinesiology and Community Health University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
Department of Sports Informatics University of Seoul Seoul, Korea