High Blood Pressure Often Mistaken for Menopausal Symptoms in Women

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27, 2021 (HealthDay Information)

Higher blood stress is usually dismissed as part of menopausal indications in more mature females, gurus say. And that could raise a woman’s chance for coronary heart difficulties, European gurus alert.

That warning, together with suggestions on how medical practitioners can help middle-aged females stay clear of long term coronary heart difficulties, is bundled in a European Modern society of Cardiology (ESC) consensus doc posted Jan. 27 in the European Coronary heart Journal.

“Doctors need to intensify the detection of hypertension in middle-aged females,” according to the doc. Up to 50 % of females acquire high blood stress just before age 60, but the indications — this sort of as scorching flashes and palpitations — are usually blamed on menopause.

“Higher blood stress is called hypertension in adult males but in females it is usually mistakenly labeled as ‘stress’ or ‘menopausal indications,’ ” reported very first writer Dr. Angela Maas, director of the Women’s Cardiac Wellbeing Program at Radboud College Medical Centre in Nijmegen, Netherlands.

“We know that blood stress is addressed less nicely in females in comparison to adult males, putting them at chance for atrial fibrillation, coronary heart failure and stroke — which could have been avoided,” she reported in an ESC news release.

Maas reported avoidance should start out early and medical practitioners should evaluate females in different ways from adult males and not just seem at high cholesterol.

“This will allow us to classify middle-aged females as high-chance or reduced chance for cardiovascular disease,” she reported.

The researchers famous that being pregnant issues and early menopause maximize a woman’s coronary heart disease chance.

The being pregnant complication preeclampsia — marked by high blood stress, inflammation and other signs of damage to organs — is connected with a fourfold maximize in coronary heart failure and high blood stress and a doubled chance of stroke later in existence.

Females who enter menopause just before age forty are also at elevated chance for coronary heart disease. Every calendar year of early menopause is connected with a 3% higher chance.

Autoimmune inflammatory problems this sort of as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus also maximize coronary heart disease chance around menopause, the researchers reported.

“There are quite a few phases of existence when we can recognize subgroups of high-chance females,” Maas reported.

“If blood stress is not resolved when females are in their 40s or 50s, they will have difficulties in their 70s when hypertension is far more difficult to address,” she extra.

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The doc provides guidance on taking care of coronary heart wellness all through menopause, just after being pregnant issues, and along with other problems this sort of as breast most cancers and polycystic ovarian syndrome. It notes the significant part of a balanced way of living and food plan.

While hormone remedy can relieve menopause indications this sort of as night sweats and scorching flashes in females about forty five, their coronary heart disease chance factors will need to be assessed just before starting the remedy, the guidance states.

It also offers assistance for transgender females (people today assigned male at birth). They will need hormone remedy for the rest of their lives and their chance of blood clots will increase about time, Maas reported. As this sort of, they need to usually be inspired to decrease modifiable way of living pitfalls, according to the doc.

“Females can help their medical practitioners reduce coronary heart difficulties and make before diagnoses by mentioning concerns like difficult pregnancies and early menopause and monitoring their have blood stress,” Maas reported.

Much more info

The U.S. Facilities for Sickness Regulate and Prevention has far more on females and coronary heart disease avoidance.

Source: European Modern society of Cardiology, news release, Jan. 27, 2021

Robert Preidt

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