Outcomes of black and white hypertensive individuals after 30 years of follow-up.

Outcomes of a 30-year follow-up for the participants of the Charleston Heart Study were studied with elevated blood pressure assessed using various classifications. The traditional categories of > or = 140/90 mmHg, > or = 160/95 mmHg and isolated systolic hypertension, as well as high normal and the four stages of high blood pressure were utilized in analyses. Prevalence rates of hypertension were, in general, higher among blacks compared to whites. Blacks had higher prevalence rates of hypertension and greater prevalence of high blood pressure at younger ages. Risk ratios were higher for black and white hypertensives than their normotensive counterparts. Blacks were found to have substantially higher population attributable risk proportions, particularly at the higher blood pressure categories. The results suggest that the standard clinical classifications of hypertension as related to mortality are appropriate for blacks and white.