High Blood Pressure Or A Sign of Menopause?

People often think hypertension (high blood pressure) is only a men’s health issue, but that is not true. Men and women in their 40s, 50s, and 60s have about the same risk of getting high blood pressure. However, at menopause, women have a higher risk than men of developing high blood pressure.

There are a number of factors which will influence your risk for developing high blood pressure and it’s associated risks, but ensuring you have good hormone balance is key. Hormone balance with good progesterone levels is essential for helping deal with the potential weight gain, and risks for heart disease and strokes.

High blood pressure in women often written off as menopausal symptoms

European heart, women’s health, and hormone doctors agree that studies show high blood pressure in women is often ignored and blamed on stress or changes during menopause.

The document suggests doctors should do more to find high blood pressure in middle-aged women because finding and treating it early is key to avoiding major problems like heart failure and stroke.

But when doctors miss the diagnosis, women may wait to get treatment, making them more likely to face these health issues.

Better understanding of high blood pressure is a key way to lower women’s risk of heart problems.

Why does it get given a low priority? 

Dr. Angela H.E.M. Maas, the main author of the paper and a top heart doctor in the Netherlands, stated that doctors pay more attention to high blood pressure in men and treat it less effectively in women.

She explained this happens because high blood pressure in women is often seen as “stress,” while in men it’s seen as “hypertension.”

Maas noted that this is partly due to prejudice from doctors and also from women themselves. She added that women often say high blood pressure is related to stress and are not always accepting of a hypertension diagnosis and treatment.

Maas mentioned that it can frequently take longer to persuade women to begin and keep up with medical treatment. She said that hypertension often begins around the start of menopause, leading to similar symptoms that are not always correctly understood.

Previously, women were thought to be less likely than men to have heart problems, which may have caused doctors to be less forceful in checking for and managing its signs.

What symptoms can be mistaken for menopause?

She also commented that one thing that causes confusion in finding high blood pressure in middle-aged women is that it often starts around the same time as menopause.

When signs appear that are like menopausal signs, women may just think they are from menopause.

“Think of hot flushes, problems sleeping, chest pain, pain between the shoulder blades, uneven heartbeats, headaches, signs of holding extra fluid, trouble breathing, and so on,”  

These menopausal signs are also like high blood pressure signs as well as others like headaches, buzzing in the ears, and changes in focus are also possible high blood pressure signs that could be blamed on menopause.

Why are women at greater risk after menopause?

Oestrogens are the best at relaxing blood vessels in young women, Maas said, but this changes after menopause, and oestrogens cannot stop blood vessel aging.

Before age 50, women have a lower risk of heart problems than men, but this changes between the ages of 50 and 70.

This means that the years between 50 and 70, or even better, between 40 and 70, are very important for starting prevention.

Unfortunately, after menopause, many women begin to gain weight, especially around their belly, where oestrogen is stored.

However, if your oestrogen levels are low, it is important to check your hormone balance to ensure you have enough oestrogen balanced with progesterone. Your body has always intended for these two hormones to be in balance, but unfortunately more women are affected by excess oestrogen, oestrogen dominance, where that hormone is not sufficiently balanced by progesterone.

Why is it so important to detect and treat high blood pressure?

A Global Burden of Disease report says that high blood pressure is the most serious danger for women worldwide.

Maas explained that it often begins around menopause and isn’t treated as well because doctors often think it’s just related to menopause. After age 70, it causes heart failure, a stiff heart, irregular heartbeat, heart valve problems, and strokes as well as potential increased risk for Kidney failure and heart attacks.

She also noted that when comparing heart disease risks in men and women over 70, high blood pressure is much more common in women.

Starting treatment early is very important, and all these dangers can be lessened by treating high blood pressure through lifestyle choices, hormone balance, diet, exercise and medication where necessary.

Treatment also leads not just to a better quality of life but potentially a longer life too.

What are the symptoms in women?

Blood pressure is the power of blood pushing on the inner walls of the arteries. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, happens when that power gets stronger and stays too high for a while.

This problem can harm blood vessels, the heart, the brain, and other body parts. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK have high blood pressure, and that is now more than 16 million.

Concerningly, this means about 26% of women have high blood pressure according to the newest NHS numbers.

Blood pressure can go up without you noticing any clear signs. You can have high blood pressure and have no clear signs until you have a TIA, stroke, or heart attack.

For some people, very high blood pressure can cause nosebleeds, headaches, or feeling dizzy.

This is true for me because the first time I knew I had it was a constant, heavy nosebleed that wouldn’t stop. After many hours, it made me call for help and an ambulance to come.

They told me this is one way my body tries to get rid of blood fast to try and lower the pressure, and it was certainly the first I understood that about it.

Since hypertension can appear without warning, it is especially important to check your blood pressure often.

Finally ..

Because high blood pressure is common during menopause, it is good to act to lessen its effects before it becomes a problem.

Having balanced hormones is important because too much oestrogen without enough progesterone causes weight gain, which is a major cause of high blood pressure. at Menopause women are more likely to have excess oestrogen as the body shift production from the ovaries into the fat cell of the belly. This needs balancing with progesterone and Wellsprings Serenity is recommended for this.

Keeping an eye on your weight definitely helps, so choose a good eating plan and try to exercise regularly; these actions will help you keep your blood pressure healthy.

If you want more advice, this article offers helpful suggestions.

https://blog.wellsprings-health.com/lifestyle-changes-that-can-lower-your-blood-pressure/