In the United States, one in every three adults has high blood pressure. While women are as likely to have this condition as men, they are more prone to acquiring it during their twilight years.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), men and women both have the tendency to develop hypertension—the medical term for high blood pressure—during their lifetimes. However, women over 65 years old are more prone to acquiring it, particularly those who passed through their menopausal stage.
High blood pressure or hypertension is a common condition which triggers the heart to pump blood excessively. Having the heart pump more blood and narrower arteries, it is likely to result to higher chances of having high blood pressure.
Today, hypertension has become one of the major contributors to the global disease burden, the World Health Organization (WHO) said, since it causes health problems such as cardiovascular disease.
AmadoI. Nazal, medical director of Pharex Health Corp., said that women who passed through their menopausal stage are at an increased risk of having hypertension because of hormonal changes and increase in body mass index that comes with age.
“As a woman ages, her chances of acquiring hypertension becomes greater than a man’s,” Nazal said. “Hormonal changes relative to menopause can lead to weight gain, making blood pressure more reactive to salt. Eventually, this leads to hypertension.”
Effective control of hypertension should be a priority among healthcare providers. This is why Pharex Health Corp, the most prescribed generic brand of medicines, emphasizes the importance of prioritizing optimum health among women who belong to this age bracket to keep hypertension at bay before it leads to heart failure.
“The most important consideration every womanages 65 and older needs to make is to recognize the importance of having a healthy lifestyle as the key to preventing hypertension and other health conditions as well,” Nazal said.
He concluded, “Women who are already in their post-menopausal stage need to start taking care of themselves especially when their metabolism slows down. Embarking on a lifestyle journey is not a one-time travel—it is a life’s worth of adventure you can give to yourself. And someday, you’ll thank yourself you did.”