Symptoms of high blood pressure in women

High blood pressure or hypertension is one of the easiest problems to treat when it is in the relatively early stages, unfortunately because many women don't realise they are suffering from hypertension it is often not found until it has done quite a lot of damage to the heart and other organs of the body.
There is some speculation amongst health professionals that a number of women who suffer from high blood pressure when they are middle aged or older probably suffered from the disease when they were younger but it just went undiagnosed as they were not tested.

Historically high blood pressure has always been a disease associated with older age groups, it's only relatively recently that its been realised it is quite endemic in middle aged groups of people. Many health care providers are coming round to realising that more and more young people are developing symptoms of high blood pressure and are monitoring them accordingly. Men are known to usually be more susceptible to high blood pressure, however women are also very prone to developing it especially as they get older.

The main problem caused by high blood pressure in either sex is the eventual damage it does over time to the coronary arteries. Hardening of the arteries can have very serious consequences as there is a build-up of plaque that eventually narrows the arteries and prevents the flow of blood around the body. If this is left untreated then serious heart disease can occur which can sooner or later be fatal. This build-up of plaque occurs over many years from early adult life and is impossible to reverse once you hit middle age; therefore in this case prevention is much better than attempting a cure.

It is very often difficult to pin point a cause of high blood pressure in women mainly because there are a number of factors to consider. Race and area is thought to be a factor in its development as it has been noticed that African/American women living the Southeast part of America are more likely to develop the problem.

There are lots of other issues to consider when looking for symptoms of high blood pressure in women and they include

* Smoking
* Diabetes
* Lack of exercise
* High salt intake
* Being overweight
* Drinking too much alcohol
* High cholesterol

If women take an oral contraceptive they should be monitored quite closely for any rise in their blood pressure, however a rise in blood pressure when taking the "pill" isn't so much of a worry nowadays as modern day contraceptive pills contain a lot less female hormones than they did previously.

The Menopause is another red flag for developing high blood pressure in women with the risk increasing even more if they have undergone a hysterectomy.

Symptoms of high blood pressure Pre-eclamsia

Blood pressure has to be monitored very carefully in women who are pregnant as there is the very real possibility they may develop pre-eclamsia. The problem with this disease is it can happen so fast that the lives of both mother and baby can be put in real danger very quickly.

Some symptoms of pre-eclamsia include

* Swelling of the body, especially the arms face and legs.
* A huge weight gain in a matter of days
* Severe headaches
* Dizziness and fainting
* Nausea and vomiting
* Visionary changes

And if the condition gets really bad seizures can occur.
Any woman who is pregnant and gets any of these symptoms then they should inform their doctor and midwife immediately so treatment can be given to prevent it getting any worse.