Asians, hypertension

Loh KC, Koay ES, Khaw MC, et al. Prevalence of primary aldosteronism among Asian hypertensive patients in Singapore. J Qin Endocrinol Metab 2000 85 2854-2859. 

R, p-c, d-bld, parallel 8 18 Asian hypertensive and 26 normotensive subjects 1.1 1.5 Lb. helveticus S. cerevisiae 2x lOOg miUc drink -7.6 -2 Itakura, Ikemoto, Terada et al. (2001)... 

Non-modifiable risk factors include age, gender, race/ ethnicity, and heredity. Ischemic stroke risk is increased in those greater than 55 years of age, in men, and in African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asian-Pacific Islanders. It is also increased in those with a family history of stroke. Modifiable risk factors include a number of treatable disease states and lifestyle factors that can greatly influence overall stroke risk. Hypertension is... 

On the other hand, some diseases for which African Americans are at greater risk, such as hypertension and stroke, may be made worse by a low intake of calcium. Average intake of calcium in African American, Hispanic, and Asian populations are at the threshold (600-700 mg/day) below which bone loss and hypertension can result. Though many members of these groups are lactase nonpersistent, intolerance symptoms can be reduced to acceptable levels with commonsense dietary practices that still allow sufficient intake of dairy products for health. Partial reduction of national health disparities between ethnic groups may be possible by overcoming the barrier of lactose intolerance (Jarvis and Miller, 2002). 

South Asian populations. People of South Asian origin in the UK have a high prevalence of coronary heart disease and stroke, central obesity (as evidenced by high waist-to-hip ratio), insulin resistance, non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes and hypertension (Cappuccio 1997 Kain et al. 2002 Bhopal et al. 2005). This increase in vascular risk seems to be partly a result of genetic susceptibility, such as high serum lipoprotein A levels, and partly dietary- and lifestyle-induced changes in lipid levels. 

British Heart Foundation Statistics Database (1998). Coronary Heart Disease Statistics 1998. London British Heart Foundation Cappuccio FP (1997). Ethnicity and cardiovascular risk variations in people of African ancestry and South Asian origin. Journal of Human Hypertension 11 571-576 Connor MD, Walker R, Modi G et aL (2007). Burden of stroke in black populations in sub-Saharan Africa. Lancet Neurology 6 269-278 Coull AJ, Lovett JK, Rothwell PM et al. (2004). Population based study of early risk of stroke after transient ischaemic attack or minor stroke implications for public education and organisation of services. British Medical Journal 328 326... 

Primary intracerebral hemorrhage is more common than subarachnoid hemorrhage, and its incidence increases with age (see Fig. 1.1). It is more frequent in Southeast Asian, Japanese and Chinese populations than in whites. The most common causes are intracranial small vessel disease, which is associated with hypertension, cerebral amyloid angiopathy and intracranial vascular malformations (Sutherland and Auer 2006). Rarer causes include saccular aneurysms, hemostatic defects, particularly those induced by anticoagulation or therapeutic thrombolysis, antiplatelet drugs, infective endocarditis, cerebral vasculitis and recreational drug use (Neiman et al. 2000 O Connor et al. 2005). 

CCT as a Function of Race, Age, and Disease. Average CCT varies with race (Box 34-1), age, and diagnosis. Whites, Chinese, Hispanics, and Filipinos tend to have comparable CCTs. Among the Asian races, Mongolians have the thinnest CCT, whereas the Japanese have thinner corneas than Chinese and Filipinos. African-Americans, patients with glaucoma, and older patients tend to have thinner corneas. Patients with ocular hypertension tend to have thicker corneas. 

The following numbers speak for themselves, and I present them without commentary or fearmongering. Statistics from the American Heart Association in 2006 show that 65 million men and women in the United States have high blood pressure, defined as systolic pressure of 140 or greater and/or diastolic pressure of 90 or more. In the white population, 20.5 percent have hypertension, while that percentage jumps to 31.6 for African Americans. Nineteen percent of Hispanics and 16.1 percent of Asians have hypertension. 

An example of ethnic differences in pharmacodynamics is response to propranolol, a beta-blocker drug used to control high blood pressure, or hypertension. Studies have shown that African Americans are least responsive (blood pressure, heart rate) to propranolol, Asians are most responsive, and Causians are midway between the two other groups. 

The Asian diet is high in omega-3 fatty acid, which decreases atherosclerosis, a risk factor for hypertension this population usually does not require multiple antihypertensive medications. 

Cerebral arteritis was reported in a woman taking an alcoholic extract of ginseng (Ryu and Chien 1995). A transient stroke secondary to a hypertensive crisis was reported in a woman taking Asian ginseng (Martinez-Mir et al. 2004). Hypertension was reported in a man with a family history of hypertension taking "a variety of ginseng products" (species unspecified) (Hammond and Whitworth 1981). 

Lei YC, Chan CC, Wang PY, Lee CT, Cheng TJ (2004) Effects of Asian dust event particles on inflammation markers in peripheral blood and bronchoalveolar lavage in pulmonary hypertensive rats. Environ Res 95 71-76... 

R, p-c, s-bld, paraller 8 30 Asian elderly hypertensive patients 1.1 1.5 Lactobacillus, Saccha- romyces helveticus Saccharomyces cerevisiae 1X 95 ml milk drink -14.1 -6.9 Hata et al. (1996)... 

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