Article: Study links chemical response to high blood pressure in blacks Nitric oxide affects them less than whites in relaxing blood vessels during stress

Healthy blacks don't react as strongly as whites do to a chemical that helps the body handle stress, according to a study that could help explain why blacks are more likely to have high blood pressure. Many doctors have long blamed poor diet and lifestyle choices for the prevalence of high blood pressure. But the study, published Thursday in Hypertension, offers a physiological possibility.

"Hypertension is probably caused by several factors," said Julio A. Panza, lead researcher. The researchers at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute said blacks were not as strongly affected as whites by the chemical nitric oxide, which helps blood vessels relax and carry more blood to muscles ...

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