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By: Sereena Gray[/align]


[align=right]19/07/2005[/align]


[align=left]While it has been a long established fact that high cholesterol levels increase the risk of a person developing heart disease, its link to stroke when combined with high blood pressure has only been recently proven.

This is according to a study conducted by the US-based International Society on Hypertension in Blacks, which compared the cholesterol levels and blood pressures of 26,913 black and white men and women.

Known as the ‘Black Pooling Project’, the study found that black men and women had the highest rates of cholesterol.

It also found that more of them had high combined cholesterol and blood pressure levels in comparison to their white counterparts.

For black women 13.9 per cent of them had the highest combined levels, while black men had a slightly lower rate at 8.5 per cent.

The figures for white women and men were 7.6 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

From these findings researchers have concluded that the black population especially must control their cholesterol and blood pressure levels if they are to avoid heart disease.

Dr Daniel Lackland from the Medical University of South Carolina who helped conduct the study said, The incidence of these combined conditions indicates an acute need for early diagnosis and aggressive treatment.�

The incidence of these combined conditions indicates an acute need for early diagnosis and aggressive treatment.

Dr Daniel Lackland, Medical University of South Carolina[/align]


[align=left]UK situation[/align]


[align=left]Doctors in the UK recommend that people should aim to keep their total cholesterol level below 5.0 mmol/l; while a blood pressure level of below 140/90 for most people is thought of as optimal.

The first line of defence in preventing either cholesterol or blood pressure rising too high is to eat a balanced healthy diet, take regular exercise and try to avoid becoming overweight.

According to information from the British Heart Foundation average cholesterol levels among black people are not significantly over the recommended level, at 5.2 mmol/l for both men and women.

Unlike the American study these are actually lower than the results for the general population where these levels are 5.5 mmol/l for men and 5.6 mmol/l for women.

However, high blood pressure – a known cause of stroke is up to three times as common amongst members of the black community than in the white community.

It is thought that genetic make-up and a diet high in fat and salt are responsible for this. For black people the increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes is also another major risk factor for strokes.

Olympic champion Linford Christie’s mother died at the age of 62 in 1998 after suffering two severe strokes. [/align]



My mother’s stroke really made me aware of the domino effect of risk factors…many African Caribbean people are completely unaware that they are more likely to have high blood pressure, and even more unaware that high blood pressure is linked to stroke.

Linford Christie

Speaking in an interview for the Stroke News magazine last September he said,

“She had many of the risk factors that I now know are associated with stroke. We knew she had diabetes and high blood pressure, and was overweight.

“It’s quite possible that these factors may have contributed to her having a stroke, but at the time, neither myself, nor the rest of the family were aware of this relationship.

He also said it is important all black people know what the risk factors are.

“My mother’s stroke really made me aware of the domino effect of risk factors…many African Caribbean people are completely unaware that they are more likely to have high blood pressure, and even more unaware that high blood pressure is linked to stroke.

“It is vital that people are made aware of this danger.�