Antihypertensive use and adherence and blood pressure stress response among black caregivers and non-caregivers.

For this secondary analysis, a sample of 69 caregivers and 86 non-caregivers was selected from a primary study. Study purposes were to compare antihypertensive use, ambulatory blood pressures, and the association of caregiver status with adherence with antihypertensives of hypertensive black female caregivers and noncaregivers. Caregivers and noncaregivers were comparable in their antihypertensive use, blood pressures, and nonadherence reasons. Prescribed antihypertensives followed the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation VI guidelines. "Forgetting to take medications" and "careless about taking medications" were the most common reasons for non-adherence. These findings contradict previous findings among white caregivers and non-caregivers and suggest different practice implications.