The causes of high blood pressure in women are differ significantly from those in men, says a new study by Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The findings suggest that woman may need to be treated earlier and more aggressively for high blood pressure than men.
“The medical community thought that high blood pressure was the same for both sexes and treatment was based on that premise,” said Carlos Ferrario, M.D., professor of surgery at Wake Forest Baptist and lead author of the study. “This is the first study to consider sex as an element in the selection of antihypertensive agents or base the choice of a specific drug on the various factors accounting for the elevation in blood pressure.”
Researchers say that cardiovascular disease mortality in men has declined significantly in the last few decades, but has not declined in women.
Researchers compared 100 men and women age 53 and older who were not being treated for high blood pressure or other major diseases. Various specialized tests were used to determine the hormonal and hemodynamic (forces that circulate blood) characteristics involved in raising blood pressure. They sought to determine whether the blood vessels or the heart were the main causes of an elevation in blood pressure.
Researchers found significant physiological differences in the cardiovascular systems of women compared to men such as the types and levels of hormones that regulate blood pressure. The female group had 30 to 40 percent more vascular disease than the male group.
“Our study findings suggest a need to better understand the female sex-specific underpinnings of the hypertensive processes to tailor optimal treatments for this vulnerable population,” Ferrario said. “We need to evaluate new protocols – what drugs, in what combination and in what dosage – to treat women with high blood pressure.”
