Differences in Hypertension Medication Prescribing for Black Americans

Background: National guidelines recommend different pharmacologic management of hypertension (HTN) without comorbidities for Black/African Americans (BAA) compared with non-BAA. We sought to 1) identify if these recommendations have influenced prescription patterns in BAA and 2) identify the differences in uncontrolled HTN in BAA on different antihypertensive medications.

Conclusions: Providers seem to be following race-based guidelines for HTN, yet HTN control for BAA remains worse than non-BAA. An individualized approach to HTN therapy for all patients may be more important than race-based guidelines.

WHY THIS ARTICLE IS WORTH READING: Formulas for medical treatments based on race are constantly being scrutinized. In several instances, especially with certain kidney algorithms, these formulas have been wrong. The results have been in the instance of kidney disease worked against Black people. 

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