Hypertension Is a Leading Cause of Heart Disease in Women—Here’s What Doctors Want You to Know

Heart disease is the number one killer of women.

Managing your blood pressure is one way to eliminate that risk.

Hypertension, often called the silent killer, is the leading risk factor for heart disease and early death in women—and it’s widely underdiagnosed. While most young women fall in the normal range, blood pressure begins rising more steeply for women than men around age 30, with hypertension more common in post-menopausal women than age-matched men. The American Heart Association estimates 600 million women worldwide have hypertension, including high blood pressure during pregnancy, a major cause of maternal death.

The Heart Association-Greater Philadelphia is working to close this diagnosis gap through programs like Team Up to Take Down High Blood Pressure (TUTTDHBP), partnering with Penn Medicine and Temple Health on community-based interventions, education and access to care in West, Southwest and North Philadelphia. “The goal of the program is to team up with community clinics to improve how we are managing blood pressure in patients,” says Jordana Cohen, M.D., a nephrologist and clinical researcher at Penn Medicine.

Dr. Cohen says everyone should be screened for high blood pressure at least once a year. “When we catch it early, we know that we can lower the risk of people having heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, kidney disease and now even dementia,” she says. “But you have to catch it before it’s caused damage.”

The program not only helps diagnose high blood pressure, it also ensures proper care through at-home monitoring, lifestyle changes and medication. “Don’t expect symptoms,” Dr. Cohen cautions. “It’s so important to treat it before you feel it; often, by the time you’re having symptoms, the damage is done.”