Studies show that there is a correlation between income and hypertension. This includes social status; many people living in lower income tend to have higher rates of hypertension. Aging populations and urbanization, which is often accompanied by unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as high sodium, fat and calorie diets and lack of physical activity, may play an important role in the epidemic of hypertension in low- and middle-income countries. As urbanization strikes more countries, people become unhealthier raising hypertension. Additionally, there is a lack of resources that increases the rates of high blood pressure.Since hypertension is symptom less and many people in low- and middle-income countries do not have access to screenings or regular preventative medical care, it is often not diagnosed. This results in a higher percentage of people with hypertension that are unaware of their condition.In conclusion, hypertension correlates with income because individuals living in households with the lowest quartile of income have roughly double the probability of being measured as hypertensive.
why do the rates of hypertension differ between races; Why do African-Americans have the highest rates? (Cazmere M.) Hypertension, high blood pressure, is a common condition in which the long-term force of the blood against your artery walls is high enough that it may eventually cause health problems. Blood pressure is determined both by the amount of blood your heart pumps and the amount of resistance to blood flow in your arteries; the more blood your heart pumps and the narrower your arteries, the higher your blood pressure. Although hypertension is a common condition, it is more commonly found in African Americans. The prevalence of high blood pressure in African-Americans in the United States is among the highest in the world, but scientist do not know the exact reason why this is so. The risk of hypertension varies drastically between White, Black, Asian and Hispanic Americans. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have among the lowest rates of high blood pressure,at 9.7% for men and 8.4% for women. Most Asians live a healthy life. They have a better eating habit than most people, which keeps their blood levels down. Among Hispanic American adults, high blood pressure risks vary by group. For instance, Puerto Rican American adults have higher rates of high blood pressure-related death than all other Hispanic groups and Caucasians. However, Cuban Americans have lower rates of high blood pressure-related deaths than Caucasians. Hypertension is seen more often among African American adults than among White, Asian and/or Mexican American adults. African Americans tend to get high blood pressure earlier in life, often have more severe high blood pressure, are more likely to be aware that they have high blood pressure and to get treatment, are less likely to achieve target control levels with high blood pressure treatment than Caucasians, have higher rates of early death from high blood pressure-related problems, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure than Caucasians.