Hypertension in Hispanics. Comments on a major disease in a mix of ethnic groups

Hypertension is a disorder that, theoretically, is easily detected and effectively treated. Unfortunately, high blood pressure is a painless cardiovascular risk factor that is associated with nonspecific symptomatology and depends--under most circumstances--on life-long treatment for amelioration or control. Paradoxically, these characteristics make hypertension susceptible to poor detection or control as a result of patient or physician idiosyncrasies. As a consequence, it remains, directly or indirectly, a leading cause of death and morbidity. Especially vulnerable are minority groups for whom a multifactorial array of impediments may retard the dissemination of information making it difficult to detect and treat hypertension. It is not clear that despite the widening of our base of knowledge in relation to hypertension in "Hispanics," we have sufficient data (or the possibility to acquire it) to help answer many of the questions that can be formulated for this amalgam of ethnic groups. Moreover, the role of acculturation in the development of high blood pressure remains largely unexplored.