According to a new study, women need to monitor blood pressure differently

According to a new study, women need to monitor blood pressure differently

by
If you are a woman, doctors may have used the wrong measure of your blood pressure all along, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation on February 15th.

The examination looks at the first number, the systolic blood pressure, which indicates how much pressure your blood creates against your artery walls when the heart beats.

Although less than 120 millimeters per mercury may be within the normal range of men, the theoretical systolic blood pressure should be less than 110 millimeters per mercury.

Heart disease is the killer of Americans, and it is notable during American Heart Month. These results change the way we should look at what is considered normal blood pressure for women, said senior author, dr. Susan Cheng, director of the Institute for Healthy Aging Research at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute in Los Angeles, said.
Dr. Susan Cheng, associate professor of cardiology and director of the Institute for Research on Healthy Aging at the Smidt Heart Institute in Cedars-Sinai, is a senior author of the study published in the journal Circulatioin.

“We thought about normal blood pressure in people under the assumption that men and women are the same, while they are really very different from what we realized,” Cheng said. He also serves as an associate professor in cardiology. at Cedars-Sinai.

The study examined blood pressure measurements of just over 27,000 participants. The findings showed that levels of more than 110 millimeters per mercury for women were associated with the risk of developing any form of cardiovascular disease – including heart attack, heart failure and stroke – a difference in the results of the report for men.

The implications are far-reaching. Blood pressure is, as Cheng put it, “the most important adaptive risk factor for all different types of cardiovascular disease.”

Differences in blood pressure between your arms can be a sign of heart problems, the study says

Although high blood pressure can pose many health risks, it is also something that people can control through diet and exercise, especially when they are younger.

Other factors, such as age, gender and genetics, are not ‘changeable’, Cheng said. And considering the other variable factors like high cholesterol and smoking, blood pressure is a “we still need to do a much better job of controlling prevention,” she added.

Recommendations for women

Blood pressure guidelines that doctors use daily are told by organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association that less than 120/80 millimeters per mercury is a healthy range for all adults.
Mediterranean diet named the best diet for 2021

But Cheng said it is not necessarily a good thing that health care does not personalize this number according to the gender of a patient.

By combining the importance of blood pressure with the possibility that many women may be outside of their actual healthy range without them or even their doctors being fully aware of it, Cheng appeals to physicians as well as patients to re-examine this health area.

“Women need to take their blood pressure really seriously,” she said. “Even if it seems to everyone – or really men – in the normal range, even if it’s below 120, it’s something to keep an eye on.”

You can do this exercise anywhere - no equipment needed
She recommends that women keep an eye on themselves when they are relaxed at home, using a blood pressure cuff approved by FDA trials, such as those made by Omron.
After several home tests, according to Cheng, it will be easier to find their true average. She also recommends taking steps to lower blood pressure, such as changing your diet or lifestyle.

A step towards more personalized medicine

These results are a good start for a deeper dive into other gender-based differences, said Dr. Eugene Yang, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington, who was not involved in the study.

Children exposed to tobacco smoke may be at risk for high blood pressure

“Because of the observation of these and the other highlighted studies, we need to stick to the published guidelines for blood pressure goals for women and men,” Yang said. He is also chairman of the American College of Cardiology Prevention or Cardiovascular Disease Section.

“We need to stay open to the idea that it may not be optimal based on sex. As more studies are published, I expect gender-specific differences in definitions and management of high blood pressure to occur.”

Cheng said her team’s research on blood pressure and gender differences is only the tip of the iceberg of a much bigger goal in health: personalized medicine.

“If we want to reach the holy grail of personalized medicine, we really have to start with the first branch of what makes us different – and that is sex,” she said.

There needs to be a broader look at medicine, apart from the “one size fits all” approach for most risk factor management, Yang said. And it is not limited to differences based on sex.

“Furthermore, we need to pay attention to racial differences and enrich studies with enough diversity to evaluate the results based on race,” he said.

Yang warned that high blood pressure is a ‘silent killer’ and that someone may not be aware that they have raised levels without being tested.

“Since it’s a month of heart awareness, it’s a great time for everyone to ‘know their number’ and make sure they consult their doctor and check their blood pressure regularly,” Yang said.

.Source