Cellular mechanisms in hypertension and therapeutic implications in blacks.

The high incidence and prevalence of hypertension in the black community in western societies led to early speculation that the black population consumed more sodium (sodium chloride) than the general population. However, numerous studies have failed to support this conclusion. It seems rather that it is the handling of sodium by the kidney (greater salt sensitivity) by many hypertensive blacks and the interaction of sodium with potassium, probably magnesium, calcium, and various transport systems at the cellular level that offer a better explanation of these observed phenomena.