High blood pressure before 35 may triple Black women’s stroke risk

Nurse checking a patients blood pressure. Adobe Stock Photo by American Heart Association News Black women treated for high blood pressure in their 30s and 40s may face a substantially higher risk for having a stroke than their peers without a history of high blood pressure treatment, new research suggests. The findings showed Black women under 35 who were treated for high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, had triple the risk of having a stroke, and those who developed the condition before age 45 had double the risk. The findings, which were presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Phoenix in February, are considered preliminary until full results are published in a peer-reviewed journal. “This research was motivated by the glaring disparity I have seen in my own practice,” lead researcher Dr. Hugo J. Aparicio said in a news release. He is an associate professor of neurology at Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. “Strokes are occurring at younger ages among my patients who identify as Black and among women. Early-onset stroke, particularly at midlife, is even more tragic because these patients often have families or are caretakers for sick family members.” Stroke at...