ST. LOUIS — When Robert Hibler stopped by his barber, he got a new haircut — and a wake-up call.
ST. LOUIS — When Robert Hibler stopped by his barber, he got a new haircut — and a wake-up call.
Two nursing students visited Flotrin’s Barber Shop in north St. Louis offering to take customers’ blood pressure, and Hibler’s was high: 145/90.
Hibler, 44, doesn’t like to go to the doctor even if he’s sick. Not anymore.
“After the high blood pressure reading, I did get a whole physical, health screening — the whole nine yards,” Hibler said.
From New York to Los Angeles to St. Louis, health workers are going to barbershops, long a gathering place for Black men, to provide screenings to those who may not get regular checkups.
What’s offered varies from city to city. In St. Louis, the nursing students have joined with the nonprofit organization 100 Black Men, which works for community improvement, and a professional nursing sorority, Chi Eta Phi, to measure blood pressure.
High blood pressure — often called the “silent killer” because it has no symptoms — increases a person’s chances for heart disease, stroke and other serious problems. But it’s easy to check for and usually can be controlled through exercise, diet and medicine.
For decades, doctors have noted that higher percentages of Black Americans have higher blood pressure than whites. The reasons for that includes poverty and cultural habits. Both can prevent people from exercising, eating healthy foods and getting in to see a good doctor.
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