Blood Pressure

If you're on the pill...

In some women, doctors have found that taking the contraceptive pill is linked to high blood pressure. You are more at risk if you are overweight, had high blood pressure when pregnant, or have a linked medical condition, such as some forms of kidney disease or a family history of high blood pressure. The combination of taking the contraceptive pill and smoking cigarettes has been found to be especially dangerous to some women.

Your doctor will routinely measure your blood pressure before starting you on the contraceptive pill. He should then check it every six months or so while you continue to take the pill. It is rare for a woman to have a problem with her blood pressure while on the pill but it can be catastrophic if she does and so her blood pressure should be properly monitored.

During pregnancy...

Your GP, obstetrician or midwife will keep a close watch on blood pressure during your pregnancy. This is because a rare condition called toxaemia can develop with little warning in the last two or three months of a pregnancy. Toxaemia usually starts with a rise in blood pressure, protein in the urine and swelling of the hands, feet and ankles. If untreated, it can be dangerous to mother and baby. Toxaemia usually disappears after the baby is born but if it does not do so, it will be monitored and treated like any other sort of hypertension. If you already have a problem with blood pressure, it is important to have it well controlled during your pregnancy. This is because there is a risk that it will rise even higher as your pregnancy progresses and this can be harmful to both mother and developing baby. The outcome of well controlled blood pressure is always a healthy mother and a healthy baby.

After the menopause...

Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. Before the menopause, women have a much lower incidence of raised blood pressure than men. Once they pass through this phase, they rapidly catch up with and then overtake men. By the time women reach the age of 65, they are more likely to suffer from raised blood pressure than men of the same age. Women who chose to take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) should also monitor their blood pressure regularly. HRT can be thought of as a weaker version of the contraceptive pill and so, for the same reasons, it too should be monitored closely.

Family history...

Raised blood pressure has quite a strong tendency to run in families. So, if your parents or one of your brothers or sisters has this condition, there is quite a high chance that you may suffer from it too. Similarly, if you have a blood pressure problem, make sure that your children have theirs monitored from the age of 30 onwards on a regular basis.

Can I reduce my risk of developing blood pressure?

Yes, you certainly can! Smoking, lack of exercise and being overweight have all been shown to materially affect blood pressure. Eliminating these risk factors now may reduce your chances of having to treat blood pressure with pills in the future. Most people are quite surprised to learn that we all have a gym with no membership fees right outside our own front door - it's called 'going for a walk!'

Reducing your alcohol intake below the safe weekly limits of 14 units for women and 21 units for men can also make a significant difference. One unit is a glass of wine, a measure of spirits or half a pint of beer or cider. Reducing your salt intake and not adding salt to your food or cooking is also helpful. Most foods already contain some salt and many processed foods can contain quite a lot of salt.

So, I have high blood pressure - what happens now?

Unfortunately, while we can treat or control high blood pressure, we cannot cure it. Very few people are able to step back from having blood pressure requiring treatment to having normal blood pressure again.

Most commonly, we treat high blood pressure with pills to lower the readings back down to a safe level. We use different pills for different people as we are often trying to target different risk factors. A person with diabetes may have different treatment priorities to a person with kidney disease, who may be different again from a person with no other apparent complaints.
Adopting some or all of the lifestyle changes mentioned previously is usually helpful and may mean less drug intervention in the long run.

Most of the time, blood pressure is relatively easy to control. However, neither the patient nor the doctor can control the condition without the help of the other. If you do have a problem, follow your doctor's advice and keep taking the treatment.

Remember that even if you believe that your blood pressure is normal, it is wise to have it checked regularly as early intervention may stave off many of the potentially serious consequences of untreated high blood pressure.

Disclaimer

This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or for the care that you receive from your doctor or other health professionals. If you are concerned about your health you should consult your doctor.

This information has been reproduced with kind permission Zahra Publishing, publishers of Easy Health. www.easyhealth.ie.