High blood pressure is killing more African-American women who had breast cancer than their white counterparts, according to a study from the University of California in San Francisco.

When researchers tracked data on women who had breast cancer treatment between 1973 and 1986, they found that the breast cancer mortality was 28.6 percent among blacks and 21.6 percent among whites. African-American women also had higher rates of hypertension.

After considering tumor characteristics, breast cancer treatment, age and race, researchers concluded that hypertension was the primary cause of death among black women battling breast cancer. “Better management of hypertension has potential to improve patient outcomes, particularly among African-American breast cancer patients,” said Dejana Braithwaite, MD, the study’s lead author.

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