Thursday, June 4, 2009

High Blood Pressure - Does Race Play a Part?

Blood pressure cuff

There are many different things that can put you at a greater risk for high blood pressure. If there is something in your life that makes it hard for your heart to work the way that it should, you are going to experience high blood pressure, even if you are doing some things in a healthy way. However, one of the things that has long been felt by many in the medical community to be a factor in high blood pressure is your race. It has long been thought that there are some genetic factors that make one race more apt to have high blood pressure than another. While this might be true, there are certain things that you should try and do for yourself no matter what race you are.

First of all, a big part of high blood pressure is the foods that we eat. If you come from a racial background that richly celebrates every occasion with meals that are high in fat and cholesterol, your entire family is going to see that they might have problems with high blood pressure. This might be something that is linked to race, because different races celebrate things in different ways, and the traditional cooking is much different from place to place, as well as from race to race. If you belong to a culture that has a tendency to eat foods often that are high in fat, you might want to consider changing the way that you cook on a day to day basis. If you still want to participate in your family functions and eat the foods that everyone else is eating, it is okay as long as this is only practiced in moderation. If you can cook for yourself every single day and eat foods that are low in fat and cholesterol, you are going to have a better chance of lowering your own high blood pressure. You can also encourage your family to use low fat substitutes when they are celebrating. Exercise plays a role as well.

Certain blood pressure conditions are prevalent with certain races. If you are black or Hispanic, make sure you keep your blood pressure in check A number of more serious health conditions can occur if high blood pressure is not addressed, so if you are at risk, monitor it carefully, eat well, and exercise often. By doing these things, you can prevent high blood pressure, no matter what race you may be.


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