Hypertension in Women: Should There be a Sex-specific Threshold?
Conventionally, hypertension is defined by the same blood pressure (BP) threshold (systolic BP ≥140 and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg) in both women and men. Several studies have documented that women with hypertension are more prone to develop BP-associated organ damage and that high BP is a stronger ri...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Radcliffe Medical Media
2021-10-01
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| Series: | European Cardiology Review |
| Online Access: | https://www.ecrjournal.com/articleindex/ecr.2021.17 |
| Summary: | Conventionally, hypertension is defined by the same blood pressure (BP) threshold (systolic BP ≥140 and/or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg) in both women and men. Several studies have documented that women with hypertension are more prone to develop BP-associated organ damage and that high BP is a stronger risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women than men. While healthy young women have lower BP than men, a steeper increase in BP is found in women from the third decade of life. Studies have documented that the BP-attributable risk for acute coronary syndromes (ACS), heart failure and AF increases at a lower level of BP in women than in men. Even high normal BP (130–139/80–89 mmHg) is associated with an up to twofold higher risk of ACS during midlife in women, but not in men. Whether sex-specific thresholds for definition of hypertension would improve CVD risk detection should be considered in future guidelines for hypertension management and CVD prevention. |
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| ISSN: | 1758-3756 1758-3764 |