It's long been known that high blood pressure and heart disease are linked, so I found myself eying a news item on a new study that finds lowering blood pressure in women results in heart health with a quizzical eye. "Why is this news?" I wondered. (Of course, with a 24-hour news cycle, EVERYTHING is news).
But then I read beyond the headlines, and I found some important news indeed. What this study found is that paring high blood pressure reduced heart disease risk by over one-third (36%) in women, so it's an even more major risk factor than was thought. In fact, that's a greater decrease in heart disease for women than for men. (The percentage for men, which was only 24 percent, but Don't let that "only" fool you guys, as 24 percent is a hefty number indeed).
The study also found that it doesn't take much of an increase in blood pressure to hike up risk; a relatively small increase of 15 points in systolic blood pressure (that's the upper number in a blood pressure reading) increased the risk of heart disease by a whopping 52 percent in women and 32 percent in men.
High blood pressure also raises the risk of stroke and heart failure. So if you think you might have high blood pressure, or if you haven't had it checked in awhile, see your doctor. Experts recommend an annual check, unless your at risk for heart disease.
The study was published in Hypertension, a publication of the American Heart Association.
The ideas, procedures and suggestions contained in this blog are not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician
High BP is not good at all.It is the cause for stroke many a times and many other related diseases.There should be a constant check on health after the 30s to make sure that you are affected with any such health issue.restrictions of diet and lifestyle can bring the BP to control.
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