Women With High Blood Pressure Need To Be Treated...Like Men

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - This is an important message for women.

We know that about a third of the US population suffers from high blood pressure and we know it is a serious condition if left untreated. Fortunately, there are effective treatments out there.

About 35 million of the people with high blood pressure, roughly one half, are women. Compared with men, women with high blood pressure are more likely to be obese and have high cholesterol levels.

They are also less likely than men to receive medications such as aspirin, blood pressure lowering drugs or cholesterol lowering drugs.

Most people don't know that heart disease is the number one killer of women - over the years men have been focused upon on at a larger level. It has been estimated that 480,000 women die of cardiovascular disease every single year.

The critical fact is that high blood pressure is a major contributor to problems and needs to be aggressively treated.