Differences in experiences of stress among female and male patients in a Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention Program

Introduction: Hypertension, known as a silent killer, is an important issue in clinical practice today. African American females have higher heart disease mortality rates than Whites. Hypertension affects more than 73 million Americans or approximately 1 in 3 adults in their lifetime. African Americans have been shown to have higher rates of uncontrolled hypertension compared to Caucasians. Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention Program is a hypertension management program low-income, uninsured patients. The purpose is to understand the patients' experiences with stressors during their hypertension management. Method: Twenty nine White African American patients were interviewed individually at a hypertension clinic in a health department in the southeast. Patients were diagnosed with hypertension and enrolled in the program for at least a year. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and transcripts were analyzed to identify major themes. Results: Women reported negative experiences with stressors like unemployment, divorce, raising children, work. They described how their hypertension increased because of their poor stress management. Male reported more positive experiences and fewer experiences with daily stressors. Discussion: There is a need for gender and culturally sensitive programs and treatment regimens for female and male patients and African American and White patients. These results can be especially helpful to primary care physicians who encounter hypertensive patients in their practice. Limitations include not generalizing results to all hypertensive patients and those living in other regions of the US. Results suggest the importance of patient education in hypertension management and learning the coping skills for successful stress management.