OCR Text |
Show I I I 61 million have high blood pressure i baby if it is not treated. This kind of high blood pressure usually disappears disap-pears after delivery, but if it doesn't, it should be controlled with careful, long-term treatment as recommended rec-ommended by a physician. Pregnancy can make high blood pressure more severe in women who already had the condition before becoming pregnant. Other risk factors for high blood pressure in women include being overweight or gaining a lot of weight as a young woman. In addition, addi-tion, as a woman grows older, her chance of having high blood pressure become greater than a man's. Black women, including young black women, are much more susceptible to high blood pressure than white women. Overall, African-Americans have a one-third greater incidence of high blood pressure than whites. Black women have the highest prevalence of high blood pressure in the United States. Finally, if one's parents and other relatives have had high blood pressure, there's a good chance that it can "run in the family." High blood pressure can be controlled con-trolled by eating a proper diet, exercising exer-cising regularly, maintaining an ideal weight, not smoking, and, if prescribed by a physician, some medications. The American Heart Association is the nation's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to the reduction of disability and death from heart and blood vessel diseases, which annually kill almost one million Americans. Last year the AHA spent more than $172 million for research support and public and professional education and community programs. Nearly 61 million Americans have high blood pressure. Contrary to popular belief, high blood i pressure is not a "stress disease" restricted to or primarily attacking i men. Women face unique risks for j developing high blood pressure. ! "High blood pressure has gained 1 its reputation as 'the silent killer' because there are not reliable symptoms symp-toms says Fred L. Anderson, j M.D., president of the American Heart Association, Utah Affiliate. "But we do know the risks for developing de-veloping high blood pressure. And women generally have more risks than men." Blood pressure results from the force generated by the heart, which propels blood into the arteries and through the circulatory system High blood pressure, or hypertension, hyperten-sion, is a chronic disease in blood pressure above a normal range. Generally, a pressure reading of "140 over 90" or higher is considered con-sidered high. According to the American Heart Association, women who take contraceptive con-traceptive pills often develop high blood pressure. It is more likely to happen, however, if the woman is overweight, has had high blood pressure during pregnancy, or has a predisposing condition, such as mild kidney disease or a family history of high blood pressure. "The combination of contraceptive contracep-tive pills and cigarette smoking is especially dangerous for women," Anderson said. During pregnancy, high blood pressure can develop rapidly in the last three months. This can be dangerous for the mother and the |