Importance of the Hispanic heritage regarding diagnosis and management of hypertension.

Hypertension (HTN) is a very prevalent and growing clinical problem that is not always promptly diagnosed and ∼6% of U.S. adults remain undiagnosed. Though numerous risk factors have been linked to the development of HTN, ethnicity has traditionally been simply considered as a significant risk among non-Hispanic Blacks. However, emerging data seems to suggest that Hispanics, the largest and fastest-growing minority in the U.S.A., might have rates of uncontrolled HTN that significantly exceeds the rates observed for non-Hispanic whites. Unfortunately, paucity of a significant Hispanic representation in major clinical trials has raised significant healthcare concerns regarding our true understanding of the meaning of HTN and associated cardiovascular consequences among this ethnic group. Consequently, there is urgency not only in having a better understanding of HTN among Hispanics, but also to examine the potential factors that may play a role in regulating the expression of HTN and its associated cardiovascular manifestations in this ethnic group.