A decade of racial and ethnic stroke disparities in the United States

Abstract

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States. Stroke incidence and prevalence is not uniform. It occurs more frequently in some geographical areas of the United States and the rates are higher in minority groups.(1,2) Some proposed causes for these disparities include increased rate of vascular risk factors that disproportionally affect some minority groups, differential effect of hypertension on stroke risk across racial groups, lack of access to health care and other social determinants of health, suboptimal control of risk factors, and although lacking substantive data to date, an inherited predisposition to stroke associated with genetic differences. The Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) investigators found that the rate of suboptimal control of vascular risk factors and unhealthy lifestyles were significantly greater in African Americans compared to non-Hispanic whites (NHW).(2) Moreover, regarding high blood pressure (BP), a triple threat has been described: blacks are not only more likely to have high BP, they are less likely, once diagnosed, to have their high BP controlled, and this suboptimal control has been shown to confer a stroke risk that is 3 times higher among blacks compared to whites for every 10-mm Hg increase in systolic BP (SBP).(3.)