Slightly high blood pressure a danger sign for women

Young women should be aware of their blood pressure because even slightly elevated levels are linked to a higher risk of a heart attack in later life, researchers have said.

Having mildly elevated blood pressure at the age of 41 was found to double the risk of a woman having a heart attack in her fifties. It did not significantly raise the risk in men.

Doctors should be more ready to screen young women, the researchers say. They also called for further studies to investigate whether there should be different thresholds for what is considered worryingly high blood pressure in men and women.

Ester Kringeland of the University of Bergen, who led the study, said: ‘‘The results add to emerging evidence indicating that high blood pressure has particularly unfavourable effects on women’s hearts. Even if they feel healthy, women should have their blood pressure measured and repeated at regular intervals. Those with other risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, pregnancy complications, or parents with high blood pressure need more intense monitoring.’’

The study investigated whether mildly elevated blood pressure – readings between 130 to 139mmHg over 80 to 89mmHg – was a stronger risk factor for heart attacks in women than in men. Blood pressure was measured in 6381 women and 5948 men in Norway, when they were aged 41. Heart attacks were recorded during the next 16 years.

In women, the elevated blood pressure was associated with a doubled risk of a heart attack. This association was not found in men. The results were published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Professor Bryan Williams, who holds the chair in medicine at University College London, who was not part of the study, said: ‘‘This is a very important finding with a strong message. It has often been assumed based on the way we are encouraged to estimate risk of heart disease, that the cardiovascular risk associated with elevated blood pressure in mid life is greater for men than women.

‘‘Importantly, this study suggests that this is not the case and that even mild elevations in blood pressure in women in early and mid-life should not be ignored.’’

Young and middle-aged women have, on average, lower blood pressure than men. ‘‘Since the threshold for high blood pressure is the same in both sexes, young women have in fact had a relatively larger increase than men before being diagnosed with high blood pressure,’’ Kringeland said. ‘‘In other words, young women with high blood pressure may have more advanced disease compared with hypertensive young men.’’