At black Phila. barbershop, a trim and a health checkup

Abstract

Sheriff Akinleye bends low over a customer in the barbershop, his eyes intently following the movements on a little dial, and a stethoscope in his ears. Then he straightens up. "All right. I get 136 over 82. Which is a little high. Normal is less than 120 over 80. You have prehypertension," he tells Phillip Griffin, 42, who has heard this before - though perhaps not in this much detail. The 26-year-old medical student explains how high blood pressure works, each organ that it affects, its links to exercise, fried food, salt. Griffin says he plans to lose weight.