High blood pressure in Hispanics in the United States: a review

To provide an overview of the available data on the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) in various groups and segments of the Hispanic population; prevalence of awareness, treatment and control of HTN among Hispanics; and HTN-related disparities, through disproportionate effects on the Hispanic elderly, women, and young adults.

Data on HTN in Hispanics has been lacking or aggregated and frequently not inclusive of certain groups of Hispanics but the available data do show a pattern of more prevalent HTN and HTN disparities among Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic whites. Hispanic adults have some of the highest prevalence of poorly controlled blood pressure compared with any other race-ethnic group in the United States. Further, the impact of the most recent iteration of the HTN guidelines among all segments of the Hispanic population has not been well studied.

The most recent HTN guidelines will likely only further illuminate worsening HTN-related disparities among Hispanics. These findings suggest significant screening and treatment disparities must be addressed to reduce HTN risk among the Hispanic population.