A 12-year study of more than 9,000 Hispanic and Latino adults found that about half of those without hypertension at the start developed it. The bigger warning may be how few ultimately had their blood pressure under control.
You can feel healthy and still have high blood pressure.
That is one reason a new study published in JAMA Network Open deserves attention from Hispanic and Latino families.
Researchers followed 9,061 Hispanic or Latino adults participating in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos across three visits spanning roughly 12 years. The study included participants in four U.S. cities, including San Diego. Read the full JAMA Network Open study
Among the 5,082 participants who did not have hypertension at the beginning, 50.5% developed it during the study period.
By the latest visit, 67.9% of the full study population had hypertension.
But another number may be even more important.
Among participants with hypertension, only 29.5% had their blood pressure controlled below 130/80 at the latest visit.
The message is not simply that Latino adults are developing high blood pressure.
It is that finding hypertension and controlling it are two different challenges.
The bigger problem may be what happens after diagnosis
High blood pressure can develop without obvious symptoms.
The American Heart Association calls hypertension a “silent killer” and recommends that Hispanic and Latino adults get their blood pressure checked regularly, even when they feel healthy.
That creates an uncomfortable reality:
Feeling fine does not necessarily mean your blood pressure is fine.
And the new study suggests that even after hypertension develops, keeping it under control can be difficult.
Among participants who were receiving treatment for hypertension, the percentage with controlled blood pressure declined from 40.2% at the first study visit to 34.7% at the third visit, using the study’s definition of below 130/80.
That makes the health challenge a three-step process:
Find it. Treat it. Control it.
Too many people are not reaching the final step.
Latino adults are not one hypertension group
Another important finding can easily get lost in the headline.
The researchers found substantial differences among Hispanic and Latino heritage groups.
At the latest study visit, hypertension prevalence ranged from 56.3% among South American participants and 60.7% among Mexican participants to 77.1% among Cuban participants. Rates were also above 70% among Central American, Dominican and Puerto Rican participants.
That does not mean that being Cuban, Puerto Rican, Mexican or another Hispanic/Latino identity causes hypertension.
The study does not establish that.
It does show why treating “Latinos” as one uniform health population can hide important differences.
The researchers found that Central American, Cuban and Dominican participants had higher rates of developing hypertension than South American participants. They also found differences in the likelihood of maintaining normal blood pressure across heritage groups.
For health systems and communities, that’s important.
Prevention and treatment may need to account for differences between communities rather than assuming every Hispanic or Latino population faces exactly the same risks and barriers.
Why this matters beyond one blood-pressure reading
Uncontrolled high blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and stroke.
The American Heart Association’s current cardiovascular statistics for Hispanic/Latino adults show that high blood pressure remains a significant cardiovascular risk in the Hispanic/Latino population.
That makes the new study more than a collection of alarming numbers.
It shows what can happen over time.
Someone can start without hypertension and develop it years later. Someone else can know they have hypertension but still struggle to keep it controlled.
The consequences can accumulate quietly.
And the concern goes beyond the heart. Research has increasingly connected vascular health and blood pressure with brain health. Parriva’s report on dementia prevention and what California families should know explains why controlling cardiovascular risk factors can also matter for long-term cognitive health.
What can Latino families do?
The first step is simple:
Know your blood pressure.
The American Heart Association says normal adult blood pressure is below 120/80. Consistently elevated readings should be discussed with a health professional, rather than judged from a single measurement. American Heart Association blood-pressure guidance
For people already diagnosed with hypertension, regular monitoring and following an individualized treatment plan are important.
That may include lifestyle changes, medication or both, depending on the person and their medical situation. The American Heart Association recommends measures such as healthier eating, physical activity, maintaining a healthy weight, avoiding tobacco and nicotine, getting adequate sleep and managing other cardiovascular risk factors.
The goal is not to panic over one reading.
It is to know your numbers and act when they consistently run high.
What the study cannot tell us
The study does not prove that Hispanic or Latino identity itself causes hypertension.
It also cannot tell us exactly why the heritage groups differed.
The researchers identified several factors associated with developing hypertension, including older age, male sex, lower income, higher body mass index and greater alcohol consumption. But the study does not establish that any single factor caused the differences between heritage groups.
There is another important limitation for California readers.
San Diego was one of the four communities included in the research, but this was not a statewide California study. The researchers caution that the findings may not fully represent Hispanic and Latino adults living in other parts of the country.
So the study should not be treated as a prediction of exactly what will happen to every Latino Californian.
What it does provide is a strong warning about a widespread and often overlooked health risk.
You don’t have to feel sick to check
The most important number in this study may not be 50.5% or 67.9%.
It may be the number on your own blood-pressure monitor.
You can feel healthy while your blood pressure is rising.
You can know you have hypertension and still need help getting it under control.
And you do not have to wait for symptoms to find out.
Know your numbers. If they are consistently high, talk with a health professional about what they mean and what to do next.
