Heart of Hypertension Project: Development of a Community-Based Prevention Program for Young African American Men

BACKGROUND: Early-onset hypertension (HTN) is a major contributor to shortened life expectancy of African American men. Lifestyle changes are known to reduce blood pressure (BP); however, interventions tailored for young African American men have not been developed. OBJECTIVES: With a community partner, we developed and assessed a HTN education and lifestyle intervention for young African American men. METHODS: A preliminary plan was presented to experts and to 18- to 22-year-old African American men, and revised based on their feedback. The revised plan (health screening and 6-week intervention) was tested with the focal group. LESSONS LEARNED: Participants were enthusiastic about the program and suggested improvements included increasing individualized guidance, building on relationships, and defining the Heart of Hypertension community. CONCLUSIONS: The Heart of Hypertension Project holds promise for HTN prevention among young African American men. The next steps are to incorporate feedback from participants into the approach and evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention on lifestyle change and BP in young African American men with pre-HTN.