And despite having a higher prevalence of diabetes at baseline, only 5.7 percent of Hispanic women suffered from adverse cardiovascular outcomes, compared with 12.3 percent of non-Hispanic white women.

Cooper-DeHoff attributed the low incidence of adverse outcomes to the fact that Hispanic women enrolled in the study were younger. If follow-up had continued over a longer period of time, adverse outcomes in the Hispanic women may have increased, she said.

However, these women remained at a lower risk for these outcomes even after statisticians adjusted for age and other factors. Still, she warned that problems associated with diabetes are likely to show up in these patients down the road.

Diabetes in and of itself imparts significant future adverse cardiovascular outcomes, she said. These women should be well-monitored under the care of a physician so that they can prevent future cardiovascular morbidity and mortality related to hypertension and diabetes. Importantly, because the Hispanic population is the fastest-growing ethnic minority in the United States, Hispanics especially women should be included in future cardiovascular research in order to further our understanding of these high-risk diseases in Hispanic patients.

High blood pressure is becoming more prevalent in women across all ethnic groups, Cooper-DeHoff said. And although it is thought to actually be less common in Hispanic women, fewer Hispanics have been included in hypertension studies.

The INVEST findings are important because they demonstrate that this treatment for Hispanic women really pays off, said Thomas G. Pickering, M.D., D. Phil., director of the Center for Behavioral Cardiovascular Health at Columbia University Medical Center. Theyve got something really interesting with this study, and it wasnt something that cou
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Contact: Amelia Beck
ambeck@ufl.edu
352-273-5810
University of Florida
12-Jul-2007