High-blood pressure aka hypertension is one of the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases. It is often left unnoticed as there are no particular symptoms that a person with hypertension may experience. Untreated and prolonged hypertension may affect the arteries and lead to impaired blood circulation to multiple organs, including to the heart and brain.
Gender of the person, along with the age and lifestyle, influences the chances of getting hypertension. Recent medical researches have proven that women develop cardiovascular diseases more than men due to the increased blood pressure after menopause.
A study conducted by the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Centre has revealed that women will have 30 to 40 percent higher chances to be affected by the heart and artery-related disorders, even though both genders’ elevated blood pressure readings were almost same. In addition, factors such as pregnancy, oral contraception and menopause affect the blood pressure in women.
The research also cites that the differences in the inflammatory chemical levels, estrogen levels and hormonal imbalances between both genders may also increase the chances of cardiovascular diseases in women compared to men.
There are various other factors that influence the blood pressure rate and cause various health complications in women compared to men.
1. Reduced Estrogen Levels
• Women’s cardiovascular system features some differences compared to men’s. This differences may vary starting from the hormones that regulate the blood pressure.
• The decreased anti-inflammatory immune cells in women leads to inflammation in the blood vessels.
• The reduced levels of estrogen as women age would be the major cause of the increased cytokine-stimulating hormone.
2. The Size of Blood Vessels
• In addition, men have bigger blood vessels compared to women. The blood circulation would be seamless in bigger blood vessels.
• This is also the reason why women experience higher blood pressure rates even though the BMI of a man and woman are same.
3. Menopause
• Women will experience various psychological and health-related challenges in personal life when they are around the menopause age.
• The increased mental tensions simultaneously trigger the blood pressure rates in the women.
• Hormonal imbalances due to the menopause can trigger increased blood circulation and kidney-related health issues.
4. Pregnancy
• Pregnancy is considered as the greatest gift of all but the sad fact is it also leads to few health issues. One among them is blood
pressure.
• The blood pressure rate in a normal woman is lower than the pressure in a pregnant woman.
• High-blood pressure in pregnant women has become a common issue these days, triggering health complications 2 to 3 percent in
overall pregnancies.
• According to a study, the weather shows a significant impact on the chances of increased blood pressure.
5. Reduced Physical Activity
• Health issues in women start once the menopause occurs and there are various reasons for it.
• The level of physical activity significantly gets reduced as women age and the plaque forms in the blood vessels of a woman faster
than in a man.
• Obesity or overweight is the main reasons for blood pressure both in men and women
Apart from that, men and women who live in the cold weather conditions are likely to increase their blood pressure compared to the people who live in warm weather conditions.
It is a common myth that men are at higher risk of getting hypertension compared to the women. The results of few medical researches have proven that women develop hypertension faster than men after menopause. Especially, few health conditions and reduced estrogen levels put the women at the receiving end of hypertension than the men.
It is imperative for women above 40 to check their blood pressure at regular intervals, stick to a balanced and healthy diet and involve in some kind of physical activities everyday is the best treatment for hypertension.
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