UF physicians offer free blood pressure screenings during Martin Luther King Day activities

January 13, 2006

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When it comes to medical conditions, not all people are created equal. African-Americans, for example, are at extremely high risk for developing high blood pressure and its complications such as stroke, heart attack and kidney failure.

Physicians at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine are working to address that discrepancy. In cooperation with community outreach programs, doctors are conducting free blood pressure screenings at various community locations, including two screenings at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Purpose Center this holiday weekend.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, can start at a young age and is often difficult to control in African-Americans. Early hypertension is referred to as the “silent killer” because patients with the condition often do not feel any discomfort or report any symptoms until there is advanced organ damage or failure.

Fortunately, it is easy to diagnose high blood pressure by measuring it with a simple blood pressure cuff, said Titte Srinivas, M.D., an assistant professor in the college’s division of nephrology, hypertension and transplantation. If detected early, hypertension can be treated effectively with medication. Even those who have had complications from elevated blood pressure benefit greatly from lowering it, he added.

“Because African-Americans are three times more likely develop kidney failure as a result of hypertension than Caucasians, regular screenings become more important,” said Srinivas, who is part of a team conducting research into new methods to improve blood pressure control in African-Americans. Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, the project’s leader is Richard J. Johnson, M.D., the J. Robert Cade professor of nephrology and division
chief. Johnson first discovered the mechanisms underlying hypertension and its relationship to elevated uric acid levels in previous research.

Johnson and his research team, including Srinivas, and Mark Segal, M.D., Ph.D., an assistant professor, are continuing research into the causes and effects of hypertension in African-Americans. It has long been known that gout, a disease that causes painful inflamed joints in those with high uric acid, is more prevalent in African-Americans. While gout’s association with elevated blood pressure has been known for many years, it is only recently that doctors have begun to understand its relationship to elevated blood pressure, Srinivas said.

In this current NIH study, the UF team will investigate basic mechanisms underlying the development of high blood pressure, atherosclerosis and the health of the inner lining of the arteries, or endothelium. They will then study methods of improving blood pressure control using a medication called chlorthalidone, along with uric acid levels in the blood.

The UF nephrology division’s blood pressure screening program in the Gainesville area will continue throughout the spring and is free and available to everyone. This program was created in close cooperation with Alachua County Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut in her role as director of the UF Shands Eastside Community Practice Education and Community Outreach program.

“The screenings Dr. Srinivas and his team are doing provide an extremely important early warning that could save lives,” Chestnut said.

Srinivas and his team will conduct screenings at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Purpose Center, 1028 NE 14th St., starting at 10 a.m. on Jan. 14 and at 2 p.m. Jan. 16. For more information on upcoming screenings, visit www.shands.org/eastsideeducation, or call 265-7136.