Race, Gender, Location Impacts Risk of Developing High BP, University of Michigan Study

MONDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that race, gender and where you live strongly affect your risk for high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Deaths from heart disease and stroke in the United States decreased 65 percent overall between 1968 and 2006, but rates of cardiovascular death are still higher in the southeastern United States, in blacks compared to whites, and in men compared to women.