Blacks Develop High Blood Pressure One Year Faster Than Whites, Medical University of South Carolina Study

African-Americans with prehypertension develop high blood pressure a year sooner than whites, according to research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association. Blacks with prehypertension also have a 35 percent greater risk of progressing to high blood pressure than whites, according to health records of 18,865 adults 18 to 85. Prehypertension is blood pressure ranging between 120/80 mm Hg and 139/89 mm Hg. Hypertension is 140/90 mm Hg or higher.