Blood Pressure and Menopause

You might be reading up on menopause symptoms when you notice “blood pressure.” But what does blood pressure have to do with The Big M? How are they connected? When people enter menopause, changes occur in the body, from biological and hormonal changes to—you guessed it—changes in blood pressure. Let’s talk about blood pressure and menopause, from the (AB)positives to the (O)negatives.

The Basics of Blood Pressure

What Is Blood Pressure?

You know when you’re sitting in the doctor’s office and they wrap that band around your arm and then pump it up until it feels like your bicep is going to pop? The healthcare pro is calculating your blood pressure. The pro then tells you two numbers and marks your chart, as if you have any clue as to what those numbers mean. For all you know, the nurse may as well be using a medieval torture device to calculate your credit score. So you ask, “Ummm, are those numbers . . . good?” If that sounds like you, then I’m totally with you. I want to know what those numbers mean and I’m sure you do, too.

According to the heart experts over at the American Heart Association (AHA), “Blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against blood vessel walls. It’s measured in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Blood pressure is written as two numbers, such as 112/78 mm Hg. The top, or larger, number (called systolic pressure) is the pressure when the heart beats. The bottom, or smaller, number (called diastolic pressure) is the pressure when the heart rests between beats.”

What Is Normal Blood Pressure?

“Normal blood pressure” is the goal. Normal blood pressure is below 120/80 mm Hg. If you’re an adult and your systolic pressure is 120 to 129, and your diastolic pressure is less than 80, you have elevated blood pressure.

What Is High Blood Pressure?

Right after delivering my first baby, my systolic blood pressure spiked to over 200. The medical team acted calm and cool while they rushed my baby and my husband out of the room and shifted their focus to me. I had no idea until hours later that I was at risk of stroking. I saw the numbers on the monitor, but could only think about holding my brand new baby boy with his full head of red hair. Since then, I learned that I could have been in serious trouble.

High blood pressure (HBP) means the pressure in your arteries is higher than it should be. Another name for high blood pressure is hypertension. Let’s hear it from the AHA again: “High blood pressure is a systolic pressure of 130 or higher, or a diastolic pressure of 80 or higher, that stays high over time. High blood pressure usually has no signs or symptoms. That’s why it is so dangerous. But it can be managed. Nearly half of the American population over age 20, has HBP, and many don’t even know it. Not treating high blood pressure is dangerous. High blood pressure increases the risk of heart attack and stroke.”

Why Is High Blood Pressure Dangerous?

According to the super smart cookies at Harvard, “Living with high blood pressure over time puts added strain on your blood vessels and on your heart. The added force of blood surging through your arteries damages the artery walls and encourages the formation of cholesterol-filled plaques. These plaques can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Beyond stroke and heart failure, having long-term high blood pressure can also contribute to dementia, kidney failure, vision problems (especially when you also have diabetes), and sexual dysfunction.”

Hmm, this reminds me to book an appointment to get my blood pressure checked. Maybe you’d like to join me.

How Can I Tell If I Have High Blood Pressure?

The only way to tell if you have high blood pressure is to get checked regularly by your healthcare professional. According to the pros at AHA, “For proper diagnosis of HBP, your health care professional will use an average based on two or more readings obtained on two or more visits.” In fact, it’s recommended that you get your blood pressure checked once a year at your doctor’s office—even if you’re feeling fine. If you purchase a home blood pressure monitor, then be sure to have your doctor calibrate it for accurate readings.

Note! If you can’t see the doc that often, want to check your BP more regularly, or have white coat hypertension (the not-so-technical term for when your blood pressure rises when you’re at the doctor’s office), you can use the kiosks at the grocery store/pharmacy or buy your own. VerywellHealth shares the 6 best blood pressure monitors for at-home and on-the-go use.

Is High Blood Pressure Hereditary?

My maternal grandmother suffered from high blood pressure and died of a heart attack. Will I follow suit? According to the CDC, “Genes likely play some role in high blood pressure, heart disease, and other related conditions. However, it is also likely that people with a family history of high blood pressure share common environments and other potential factors that increase their risk. The risk for high blood pressure can increase even more when heredity combines with unhealthy lifestyle choices, such as smoking and eating an unhealthy diet.” In other words, your Grandma Jean gave you these genes, but you may have some control in how many more years you live to fit into your Levis.

What Factors Increase Blood Pressure?

Both men and women can have high blood pressure, but some factors that are out of our control might increase blood pressure:

Age: Blood pressure has a tendency to increase as you get older. According to the CDC, “About 9 out of 10 Americans will develop high blood pressure during their lifetime.”
Ethnicity: Turning to the CDC again, “Black people develop high blood pressure more often than white people, Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders, American Indians, or Alaska Natives do. Compared with white people, black people also develop high blood pressure earlier in life.”

And while we’re on the subject, according to the National Institute of Health in regards to racial differences in hypertension, “The racial disparity in hypertension and hypertension-related outcomes has been recognized for decades with African Americans with greater risks than Caucasians. Blood pressure levels have consistently been higher for African Americans with an earlier onset of hypertension. While awareness and treatment levels of high blood pressure have been similar, racial differences in control rates are evident. The higher blood pressure levels for African Americans are associated with higher rates of stroke, end-stage renal disease and congestive heart failure. The reasons for the racial disparities in elevated blood pressure and hypertension-related outcomes risk remain unclear. However, the implications of the disparities of hypertension for prevention and clinical management are substantial in identifying African American men and women with excel hypertension risk and warranting interventions focused on these differences. In addition, focused research to identify the factors attributed to these disparities in risk burden is an essential need to address the evidence gaps.”

If you’re dealing with hypertension issues and wonder if it’s related to ethnicity, then be sure to get more information on the various reasons. Also, as I always say, don’t shy away from talking to a healthcare expert or a professional who studies race in medicine.

What Behaviors Should I Avoid to Increase My Blood Pressure?

As is the case with a lot that happens in life, your lifestyle choices can impact your blood pressure test results. The good news? Healthy lifestyle choices might lower your risk for high blood pressure. So, try to avoid the following behaviors if you want to be on the up and up with normal blood pressure:

Eating an Unhealthy Diet: Try to avoid high sodium and low potassium diets. In other words, avoid salty foods and make sure you’re going bananas for potatoes, beans, and yogurt, and well, bananas.
Doing Little to No Physical Activity: Get moving to help your heart and blood vessels stay strong and healthy, which may help lower your blood pressure.
Having Obesity: According to the CDC, “Having obesity is having excess body fat. Having obesity or being overweight also means your heart must work harder to pump blood and oxygen around your body. Over time, this can add stress to your heart and blood vessels. Obesity is linked to higher ‘bad’ cholesterol and triglyceride levels and to lower ‘good cholesterol levels. In addition to high blood pressure, obesity can also lead to heart disease and diabetes.“
Drinking Too Much Alcohol: Drinking too much alcohol can raise your blood pressure. According to the CDC, women should have no more than one drink per day and men should have no more than two drinks per day.
Using Tobacco Products: Throwing it over to the CDC again, “Tobacco use increases your risk for high blood pressure. Smoking can damage the heart and blood vessels. Nicotine raises blood pressure, and breathing in carbon monoxide—which is produced from smoking tobacco—reduces the amount of oxygen that your blood can carry.”

Our vices from our 20’s cannot be our lifestyle in our 40’s/50’s if we want to see our 70’s/80’s!

Blood Pressure and Menopause: How Are They Connected?

How Does Blood Pressure Relate to Menopause?

Pop Quiz Time: What’s one of the main things that decreases during menopause? Answer: Estrogen levels. With a decrease in estrogen levels comes all sorts of fun side effects like a potential for high blood pressure.

What Are Some Early Menopause Symptoms?

What is one of the first menopause symptoms you’ll notice? Most menopausal mavens will pull out their fans and ice water while shouting,: “Hot flashes, of course!” But most menopausal signs and symptoms are due to decreasing estrogen levels with lower progesterone riding shotgun. In the months or years leading up to menopause (AKA perimenopause), you might experience these common signs and symptoms:

Irregular Periods
Hot Flashes
Vaginal Dryness/Urinary Incontinence
Sleep Problems
Mood Changes
Weight Gain and Slowed Metabolism
Thinning Hair and Dry Skin
Bone Loss
Cognitive Changes (e.g., remembering names, and where I put those darned car keys)
Itching (Vaginal and Generalized)
Blood pressure changes

Even though you are bound to experience one or more of the common menopause symptoms, they will vary from time to time. It’s best to stay on the up and up so that you’re prepared to overcome these symptoms, crank up the music, and do a victory dance. We recommend doing that dance while taking a cold shower, belting out Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive!”

How Does Menopause Affect Blood Pressure?

You’re dealing with night sweats, fatigue, and hot flashes during the day, now you have to worry about high blood pressure? Why? Well, there are three main reasons:

Increase in Age: As we get older, our bodies naturally begin to decline. It’s a natural part of life. For most of us, our metabolism slows, our arteries stiffen, and we become less active. All of these factors can contribute to high blood pressure.
Decrease in Estrogen: The pros over at Henry Ford Health System said, “During menopause, the level of estrogen in a woman’s body naturally decreases.” Remember those stiffened arteries I mentioned above? Nitric oxide, a compound in our bodies, works to expand blood vessels for better blood flow. The kicker: Nitric oxide is heavily dependent on estrogen production, and when estrogen levels decrease, our arteries don’t fully dilate and our blood needs to pump harder to circulate the body, which can help lead to increases in blood pressure.”
Increase in Salt Sensitivity: Studies have shown that people during their postmenopausal years are more salt sensitive. So, it’s best to avoid salt intake as much as possible. A sensitivity can lead to excess salt in the bloodstream, which causes increased water retention and pressure on the blood vessels. And your vessels are already working their bloody butts off. Why give them even more work?!

How Many People Deal With High Blood Pressure During Menopause?

According to Dr. Deepak Bhatt, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Integrated Interventional Cardiovascular Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “Blood pressure is really a tricky disease.” He adds, “The risk of developing high blood pressure over a lifetime is extremely high if a person lives long enough.”

The fine folks at Harvard went on to explain that it’s “especially true in women after menopause, when blood pressure may rise. By the time they reach their 60s and 70s, 70% of women have high blood pressure. After age 75, that figure rises to nearly 80%, according to the CDC.”

So like we say all the time here at PauseMeNot, you’re not alone! Many of us feel under pressure.

What Are Things to Watch Out for During Menopause?

Here’s the scary part: High blood pressure typically doesn’t produce any symptoms until it’s very high (e.g., you have a stroke or other serious medical incident).

So, like I mentioned earlier, let’s make a pact to get regular checkups with a doctor and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You with me?

What Are Natural and Lifestyle Tips to Reduce High Blood Pressure?

Even though some factors—like age, ethnicity, and sex—might be out of your control, there are ways to help manage, control, and lower blood pressure.

Get your blood pressure checked regularly.
Reduce your salt, fat, and cholesterol in your diet.
Eat foods high in potassium.
Exercise regularly — at least 150 minutes per week (something as simple as a 30-minute walk five times a week will help).
Set goals to lose weight (if you are overweight).
Work on quitting smoking (ask your healthcare professional for help).
Drink less alcohol.
Try to keep your stress levels to a minimum. (We have tips to help!)
Cut back on caffeine intake.
Get support from family and friends.

I know, easier said than done (in this case, easier read than done), but there’s no harm in taking baby steps to help you and your heart. In fact, there’s help in it! Your blood vessels will thank you for it.

Can High Blood Pressure Be Treated With Medicine?

Yes, you can also talk to your healthcare professional about ways to control and lower blood pressure by going the medicine route.. I’ll leave those specifics up to the healthcare professionals since they are well-versed in that arena.

It’s a Wrap!

As we get older, it’s easier to feel the weight that Freddie Mercury sang about all those years ago: Under Pressure. The goal in the Blood Pressure Game is to be at or as close to normal as possible. Even though there are factors that are out of your control—age, ethnicity, and sex—you can implement changes to your lifestyle to help manage, control, and lower your blood pressure.

So, for all of you who are approaching/going through menopause or who have reached the postmenopausal years, listen up: Go get your blood pressure checked regularly. High blood pressure is just like a cat in a room of empty boxes: super sneaky and will come out of nowhere. High blood pressure typically doesn’t produce any symptoms until it’s very high—for example, you have a stroke or other serious medical incident.

The rewards of lower pressure outweigh the risks of high blood pressure. At the end of the day, make a game plan and stick to it. It’s your life and I want you to live it to the fullest.

Sources

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