10 Local Black Churches & Sentara Partner To Fight High Blood Pressure

Sentara Healthcare and 10 Black churches in Hampton Roads recently formed a partnership that aims to reduce high blood pressure, a silent killer that sits in many church pews every Sunday.While more than 40 percent of all Blacks suffer from hypertension nationwide, according to the American Heart Association, the numbers are a bit higher (50 percent) at 2nd Calvary Baptist Church, one of the 10 Hampton Roads churches participating in the 18-month study funded by a $3.4 million, five-year NIH grant awarded to Sentara last year. Study participants will receive at-home blood pressure monitors, journals, as well as weekly reminders from a healthcare professional, who will review weekly data, phone calls, and make medication and nutrition adjustments.