High blood pressure happens when blood cannot flow easily through your blood vessels. This creates pressure in your vessels, which damages the vessels and strains your heart. As a result, blood doesn't flow as well to your brain or kidneys, and you can have a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. The number of African Americans with high blood pressure is high: one out of three African Americans have it. Certain factors increase your chances of having high blood pressure: increasing age (middle aged or older), diabetes, obesity (or being overweight), alcohol use, eating too much salt, a family history of high blood pressure, and not exercising.

Publications

1. For Your Heart - This portion of the NWHIC web site will escort you through a short, confidential survey of questions about your health and lifestyle. Based on your answers, it will provide you with a series of articles detailing the latest information on exercise, nutrition, smoking, diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure and other factors that affect you and your risk for heart disease - all tailored to your needs.

2. Facts About The DASH Eating Plan - This brochure is an easy to read summary of the findings from the "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension" clinical study that showed how elevated blood pressure levels can be reduced with an eating plan low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and rich in fruits, vegetables, and lowfat dairy products. It also provides a form to track food habits before starting the plan and a chart to help with meal planning and food shopping.

3. Heart Truth for Women, The - The campaign brochure, The Heart Truth for Women, is available in English and Spanish. It features women telling their own stories about heart disease and provides information about risk factors and a checklist of key questions to ask your doctor.

4. Heart-Healthy Home Cooking African American Style - Prepare your favorite African American dishes in ways that protect you and your family from heart disease and stroke. These 20 tested recipes will show you how to cut back on saturated fat, cholesterol, salt, and sodium and still have great-tasting food. Delicious foods from spicy southern barbecued chicken to sweet potato pie are included.

5. Protect Your Heart! Prevent High Blood Pressure - This booklet provides specific information on high blood pressure and identifies steps to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans.

6. Spice Up Your Life! Eat Less Salt and Sodium - This booklet provides information on the benefits of low sodium diets and identifies steps to promote healthy lifestyles among African Americans.

rganizations

1. American Heart Association

2. Association of Black Cardiologists, Inc.

3. CDC's WISEWOMAN™ - Well Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation

4. Heart Truth: A National Awareness Campaign for Women about Heart Disease, The

5. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, HHS

6. Sister to Sister - Everyone has a Heart Foundation

7. WomenHeart - National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease