High Blood Pressure

Minority Women's Health > Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians > Health Topics > High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure happens when blood can't flow easily through your blood vessels. This puts pressure on your vessels, which damages the vessels and strains your heart. As a result, blood doesn't flow as well to your organs, and you can have a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure.

High blood pressure has no symptoms. See your doctor once a year to have your blood pressure checked.

Among Asian American/Pacific Islander women, high blood pressure is more of a problem for Filipino women. But, all Asian American/Pacific Islander women have much lower blood pressure screening rates than other minority women. Some things increase your chances of having high blood pressure: increasing age (middle aged or older), diabetes, obesity (or being overweight), alcohol use, eating too much salt, a family history of high blood pressure, and not exercising.

Making some lifestyle changes can help prevent or control high blood pressure.

• If you are overweight, lose weight. Losing just 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure.
• Get moving. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day, most days of the week. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Or, walk during breaks at work.
• Eat right. Eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Choose low-fat dairy products. Eat less salt.
• Don't smoke. If you smoke, try to quit. For help along the way, check out our Quitting Smoking section.
• If you drink alcohol, have no more than one drink per day.

Publications

1.   For Your Heart - This portion of the womenshealth.gov web site will escort you through a short, confidential survey of questions about your health and lifestyle. Based on your answers, it will provide you with a series of articles detailing the latest information on exercise, nutrition, smoking, diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other factors that affect you and your risk for heart disease - all tailored to your needs.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/ForYourHeart/

2.     Filipinos Aspire for Healthy Hearts: Keep Your Heart in Check-Know Your Blood Pressure Number - This easy-to-read, bilingual Tagalog and English booklet explains what high blood pressure is, how to read your blood pressure number, and ways to keep blood pressure in the normal range.

   http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/filipino_facts/filipino-hbp.pd...

3.   Take Care of Your Heart - For Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders - The NDEP's "Take Care of Your Heart" campaign encourages Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders with diabetes, and their families, to take steps now to reduce their risk of heart attacks or strokes, the leading killers of people with diabetes. This web site links you to the different Asian-language versions of this campaign.

   http://www.ndep.nih.gov/campaigns/TCH/TCH_materials_AsianAm.htm

4.     Vietnamese Aspire for Healthy Hearts: Keep Your Heart in Check - Know Your Blood Pressure Number - This easy-to-read, bilingual Vietnamese and English booklet explains what high blood pressure is, how to read your blood pressure number, and ways to keep blood pressure in the normal range.

   http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/other/viet_facts/viet-hbp.pdf

5.   Your Guide to Lowering High Blood Pressure - This web site, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, is an interactive guide that provides basic answers to your questions about high blood pressure, offers tips and quizzes about high blood pressure and heart health, and gives information about medications and how to talk with your doctor.

   http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/hbp/index.html

6. How Asian Americans Can Protect Their Kidneys and Hearts by Preventing or Treating High Blood Pressure (Copyright © MIKE) - This publication explains how important it is for Asian Americans to maintain a healthy blood pressure. It provides tips on how to lower high blood pressure if you have already been diagnosed with hypertension.

   http://www.mikehelps.org/as_hypertension.html

Organizations

1.   CDC's WISEWOMAN™ - Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation
2.   Heart Truth: A National Awareness Campaign for Women about Heart Disease, The
3. National Asian Women's Health Organization
4. WomenHeart - National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of December 2007