Public health and system approach in eliminating disparities in hypertensive disorders and cardiovascular outcomes in non-Hispanic Black women across the pregnancy life course

Abstract

Hypertension is one of the leading risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The ACC/AHA/Multisociety hypertension guideline covered all aspects of the recommendations for optimal blood pressure diagnosis and management to improve cardiovascular outcomes. Despite this, there remains a growing prevalence of hypertension within the United States, largely in non-Hispanic Black women at earlier stages of their life course. This highlights the evident racial disparities, but offers a targeted opportunity for improved outcomes. With hypertension increasingly seen in the antenatal and immediate postpartum period, and obstetrics societies weighing in on the need to alter pharmacotherapy initiation goals, national initiatives have purposefully targeted pregnant and postpartum women in an effort to improve outcomes. This same energy must also re-focus health care efforts across the entire health continuum. Public health and system strategies are in place to do so, with the strongest enforcing initiatives as early as childhood with a greater focus on primordial prevention.

Keywords: Black women; Cardioobstetrics; Health disparities; Life course; Maternal health; Social determinants of health.

Fig. 1

Eliminating disparities in hypertensive disorders and cardiovascular outcomes in Black women across the pregnancy life course.