Physical symptoms of high blood pressure
Racial differences
My family came from Jamaica originally and my father has high BP. It seems to run in our family. Do black people differ from white people in the way that they respond to BP-lowering drugs?
African-Caribbean black people are at particular risk of developing high BP. High BP also tends to be more severe, with a higher risk of complications, particularly stroke and renal failure.
Non-drug treatment, particularly cutting down on salt, seems to be more effective in this group of people.
As regards drug treatment, yes, people from African-Caribbean descent respond less well to beta-blocker drugs and to ACE inhibitors, related to the fact that the rennin-angiotensin system is suppressed in this group. It has been shown that they respond better than other ethnic groups to thiazide diuretics and calcium-channel blockers.
Similarly, people with a southern Asian background have a higher chance of developing high BP and diabetes, being particularly at risk of developing coronary heart disease.
However, their response to BP-lowering drugs is similar to that of people from white European descent. Asian people need to be particularly careful about their coronary heart disease risk and often benefit from aspirin and statin treatment as well as their BP medication.
