Health Newsfeed # 1469
HYPERTENSION AMONG KOREAN-AMERICANS
Nothing like a good traffic jam to elevate the blood pressure. For some Americans, though,
just being in this country here does the trick.
A recent regional study from Johns Hopkins finds that Korean-Americans suffer from much
higher rates of hypertension than do other Americans. Higher even than Koreans in Korea.
Dr. Miyoung Kim studied more than seven hundred Korean-Americans between ages 18 and
89. Seventy-five per cent were doing nothing to control their high blood pressure and many
weren’t aware it was a problem. What causes the hypertension? Dr. Kim says many Korean-
Americans are first generation immigrants facing daunting cultural challenges.
The stress level. They’ve having incredibly high stress adjusting to this new environment.
Not only from the health perspective, but the social perspective. People are very isolated. A lot
of them don’t have health insurance. :15
What to do? Dr. Kim says community-based health care, offered by Korean-American
doctors if possible, is a great way to start.
At the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, I'm Tom Haederle reporting.
Copyright 2000 The Johns Hopkins University. All rights reserved.
