The American journal of the medical sciences
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The association of left ventricular mass with cardiovascular risk factors in African American women.
African American women have disproportionately high rates of myocardial infarction and stroke. Left ventricular hypertrophy is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Increases in left ventricular mass (LVM) may precede the expression of hypertension. The purpose of this study was to determine whether LVM is related to cardiovascular risk variables in healthy, premenopausal African American women. ⋯ These data show that increased LVMI is associated with body mass index and central obesity, but not with lipids, insulin resistance, or insulin sensitivity. LVMI is also associated with blood pressure before the expression of severe hypertension in healthy, premenopausal African American women.
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Reports of higher mortality in African Americans have often focused on socioeconomic differences. Such differences do not explain the excess mortality in African Americans compared with Hispanics in Los Angeles County. We suggest the existence of genetic factors to explain at least some of the differences in mortality risk. ⋯ African American adults aged 45 to 74 years in Los Angeles County have a substantial excess mortality from hypertensive diseases compared with a similar Hispanic population. The frequency of the ACE DD genotype was higher in African Americans than in Hispanics. These studies may indirectly support the possibility of a genetic contribution to the excess hypertensive disease mortality in African Americans.