By Oluwafunke Ishola
The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) says women must check their blood pressure regularly to prevent heart disease and stroke.
Prof. Angela Maas, the ESC spokesperson, disclosed this in a message posted on ESC website in celebration of the World Hypertension Day.
Maas, Director, Women’s Cardiac Health Programme, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands, said cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of death in women.
“The risk for cardiovascular disease increases at a lower blood pressure level in women compared to men.
“My message to all women is to take their blood pressure seriously, know your values and convince your doctor that if it is too high then you need treatment.
“Don’t underestimate the long-term effects of high blood pressure,” she warned.
According to her, a critical consequence of hypertension in women is a type of heart failure in which the heart muscle is stiff.
“There are few treatments for that condition, so if you want to avoid symptoms such as shortness of breath, fatigue and fluid retention when you are over 70, you have to start treating high blood pressure in middle age.
“If you wait 20 years, it is too late,” she said.
Maas noted that one in three women have hypertension globally.
According to her, raised blood pressure has been named the most important risk factor for death in women across the world.
“Despite its importance, we know that hypertension is more often underestimated and not, or insufficiently, treated in women compared to men.
“One of the reasons may be that below the age of 50, hypertension is more prevalent in men.
“This reverses in the years after menopause so that after the age of 65, hypertension is more common in women than men,” she said.
She noted that it was a misconception that high blood pressure does not cause symptoms, stressing that symptoms are more pronounced in women but may be mistaken for menopause, anxiety or stress.
According to her, young and middle-aged women with high blood pressure often report palpitations, chest pain, pain between the shoulder blades, headaches, difficulty concentrating, shortness of breath, tiredness, fluid retention.
She further cited other complaints as poor sleep, hot flushes and a feeling that their bra was too tight.
“When we treat hypertension, many symptoms erroneously attributed to menopause disappear.
“Night sweats can be caused by high blood pressure, for example, women with menopausal symptoms should have their blood pressure checked and treated if needed,” she said.
According to the professor, hypertension in midlife is more harmful in women than in similarly aged men, and was a stronger risk factor for myocardial infarction, cognitive decline and dementia.
“The probability of stroke increases at a lower blood pressure level in women than in men, while high blood pressure raises the risk for heart failure in women by three-fold, compared to two-fold in men,” she said.
Maas said that hypertension was currently defined as a systolic blood pressure of at least 140 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mmHg or higher.
She, however, said that discussions are underway about whether normal blood pressure values should be lower in women compared to men.
