High Blood Pressure and Women's Health
By Dr. Steve Vasilev, MD
One in three American adults has
high blood pressure,
and around half of all adults with a diagnosis of hypertension or high
blood pressure are women! This runs a bit contrary to common thought,
but is actually easily explained by a few different factors:
1.
Age Variations
High blood pressure is thought to occur more often in men than women.
Before age 50, women have a lower risk of hypertension than men.
However, after age 55 the reverse is true. It’s possible this is due to
the protection offered by higher estrogen production in premenopausal
years. But the good news at any age is that it takes a higher average
blood pressure in women to get symptoms of cardiovascular disease than
men. The reasons for this are unclear.
2.
Medication
There are some medications that put women at higher risk for
hypertension with the most common being oral birth control. This
increased risk is amplified if you’re also a smoker and overweight. It’s
the main reason you would need your blood pressure checked before
starting or renewing an oral birth control prescription. There are other
common medications to be wary of, including non-steroidal
anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen, cold medicines containing
pseudoephedrine, and some drugs for migraines and weight loss. This is
why it’s very important to discuss any new medications with your doctor
or pharmacist. Some can cause more problems than they’re worth.
3.
Pregnancy
Women can develop temporary bouts of high blood pressure during
pregnancy. Known as gestational hypertension, it’s a very serious
condition and must be monitored closely. Gestational hypertension may
require treatment and may also mean you have an increased risk of
hypertension and stroke later in life. This is a very special form of
hypertension and since any treatment can affect both you and your
developing baby, it isn’t something to ignore.
4.
Post-menopause
Once a woman is postmenopausal, blood pressure starts to rise as well
as hypertension related kidney disease. The mechanism for this is
uncertain, but thought to be related to dropping estrogen levels.
Although estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) is no longer the
indiscriminate standard for everyone, you should discuss whether or not
you would benefit from ERT with your doctor. Having said that,
postmenopausal hypertension is a complex disease, likely related to many
factors that aren’t yet clear and can be harder to treat.
5.
Race
For both genders, ethnic background affects risk for developing high
blood pressure. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) indicates people
of Mexican American and non-Hispanic Caucasian decent tended to have
“normal” blood pressure levels compared collectively to people of
non-Hispanic descent or African Americans. This isn’t something you can
escape, but prevention still goes a long way no matter what your race.
Prevention is crucial because it can be very effective in avoiding
major problems later in life. If early hypertension is ignored, it can
quickly progress and easily lead to such life-threatening issues as
stroke, heart attack, damage to the kidneys, major vision problems and
more. At the very least, self-monitor your blood pressure using free
resources (many pharmacies have “DIY” blood pressure stations). Ideally,
get checked at least once per year for high blood pressure and
regularly discuss your overall health with your physician.
As far as what you can do to prevent hypertension on your own, there is
a lot! In fact, although it’s important to work with your doctor to
maintain health, a doctor can’t hand you a prescription pill that will
do all the work for you in preventing high blood pressure. It is largely
up to you.
For starters, the big three are exercise, healthy diet and staying away
from bad habits that can negatively impact your health. That may sound
trite, but it’s true. Try to eat as much of a plant-based diet as
possible, stay away from fast food, get moderate exercise at least three
times per week, avoid cigarettes and develop ways to manage life’s
stress. As far as managing stress, consider yoga or other mind-body
relaxation techniques such as bio-feedback.
The above will get you 80 percent of the way to a healthy,
hypertension-free life. If you want to add some additional benefits,
consider these supplements and botanicals that can help support healthy
blood pressure:
If you follow this general advice above, you’ll have a great chance of
avoiding high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and get back on a
healthy track if you have hypertension. Working closely with your
doctor can help you better manage your blood pressure, if you’ve already
been diagnosed.
Sources: http://www.evitamins.com/a/high-blood-pressure-women-s-health-670#.VIkdXMm17uc
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