The medical community had long held to the belief that high blood pressure was equally prevalent among both the sexes. However this myth has been broken in recent studies which concluded that women are more likely to experience its devastating effects than men.
According to the findings of a recent study, hypertension puts women at a greater risk of cardiovascular abnormalities as compared to men.
Dr. Carlos Ferrario, lead author of the study and, Professor of Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, noted, “the medical community thought that high blood pressure was the same for both sexes and treatment was based on that premise,”
The current study has for the first time hinted that sex is an important element in choosing any hypertensive agent from the whole list of available hypertensive drugs.
The study involved about 100 adults above the age of 53. All the participants were suffering from untreated high blood pressure or hypertension. The subjects were all screened carefully to check for any instances of impaired heart or blood vessels which precipitated hypertension. Other checks concluded include hemo-dynamics and hormonal characteristics
The research revealed that at the same levels of hypertension women had 30-40 percent higher vascular problems than men.The severity and frequency of the cardiac problems were at a significantly higher degree in women than in men.The study clearly highlighted a need to alter hypertensive treatments according to gender.
Dr. Carlos Ferrario said, “Our study findings suggest a need to better understand the female sex-specific underpinnings of the hypertensive processes to tailor optimal treatments for this vulnerable population. We need to evaluate new protocols – what drugs, in what combination and in what dosage – to treat women with high blood pressure,”
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