According
to the World Health Statistics 2012 report, India has low rates of hypertension
compared to world figures. Here, 23.10% men and 22.60% women above 25 years
suffer from hypertension. High blood pressure or hypertension kills nearly 1.5
million people every year in South-East
Asia. India also
fares better than the global average of 29.20 in men and 24.80 in women
respectively.
Abstract: Even though hypertension
is not directly related to any gender women have to face extra problems due to pregnancy,
intake of contraceptive pills, hormone replacement therapy, menopause, stress, obesity
etc. These can be causative factors for hypertension leading to it becoming one
of the major causes of death in women.
Hypertension
could result in a stroke, kidney failure and gestational hypertension or preeclampsia
as well.
So
what is hypertension?
It
is consistent pressure on the walls of arteries (blood vessels) which can cause
sudden heart attacks. One common misconception is that hypertension rarely
affects women. However, among nearly half of all adult population hypertension has
been found in middle-aged women. Furthermore, blood pressure or BP control is
more difficult for older women. Women have unique forms of hypertension
associated with pregnancy, menopause, and the use of OCP.
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