Why should women over 60 be concerned about high blood pressure?

Open Access News Health & Social Care Why should women over 60 be concerned about high blood pressure? October 3, 2024 image: ©SARINYAPINNGAM | iSock High blood pressure is one of the most significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Dr Deborah Lee of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy explains how women can protect their heart health According to the World Health Organization (WHO), high blood pressure (also called hypertension) is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It caused almost a quarter (24%) of Europe’s CVD deaths in 2019 alone.

It may surprise you to know that 60% of women over the age of 65 have high blood pressure. It’s particularly important as high blood pressure can be treated and the risk of CVD reduced, so long as it is picked up early enough. Why are postmenopausal women more at risk of high blood pressure? Women are protected from CVD before menopause by their own oestrogen.

However, in association with falling oestrogen levels, women start to develop atherosclerotic changes in their arterial walls as early as their 40s. After menopause, calcification and inflammation develop within the vessel walls. Most CVD events – angina, heart attacks, and strokes – occur in women after the age of 63.

Various research studies have confirmed that women who take HRT in their 50s and continue through the next five to ten years have a reduced risk of CVD. But women who do not start HRT until their 60s have an increased risk of CVD events, probably bec.