Women's Health Issue - Hypertension - Essay Example

Women and Hypertension Introduction Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a health risk for both men and women, but women are more at risk for it than men. One of the reasons this is a woman’s issue is because they often do not know about this problem. Many doctors do not pay attention to women and blood pressure issues (Reinberg 1). Women often do not have enough education about the dangers of hypertension and they do not understand when they are having signs that something may be wrong. Because women are not informed about hypertension, they may assume that doctors will tell them if anything is wrong, especially since doctors usually take the person’s blood pressure as part of their intake of vital signs when they go to an office visit. The research states that women must become more knowledgeable about hypertension and the problems that it can cause when undetected. 1.1 A Woman’s Health Issue Hypertension is thought of by the general public as a disease that is caused by stress. Because women traditionally live stressful lives when they are balancing family, a job, and other responsibilities, the stress factor could be a contributing factor; however, this is not the case. In reality, doctors are not totally sure what exactly causes hypertension (Healthy HeartHelp.com). There are many factors that make women more at risk for hypertension. Taking birth control pills can create high blood pressure in some women. Women who are overweight, pregnant, or who have a family history of high blood pressure are also at risk for this problem. Some women develop hypertension when they reach menopause and others have genetic or racial group factors (e.g. African Americans and Hispanics seem to have hypertension more often than other races). 2 Risk Factors There are many risk factors for people who have hypertension. Some people have close family members who have a history of hypertension which can make them more at risk to develop the disease themselves. The lack of physical activity and poor diet can also be factors. Often, a poor diet will include a high level of salt, fats, and sugar which means that it is low in nutrients. This lack of nutrients over time can create hypertension (American Heart Association). Poor lifestyle choices also contribute to hypertension. Drinking too much, being overweight and not getting enough sleep can contribute to hypertension. Secondary contributors can be stress, smoking or sleep apnea (American Heart Association). 2.1 Hypertension Statistics The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) state that about one in three U.S. adults has hypertension. This is about 32% of the regular population. Approximately 326,000 Americans died as a result of problems with hypertension in 2006. In 2010, hypertension cost the U.S. $76.6 billion in treatment for hypertension. This was the cost for medications, missed days of work and other services related to hypertension (The Centers for Disease Control). Interestingly enough, although 70% of people with hypertension took medication to control their hypertension, approximately 47% were able to bring their condition under control. About 25% of adults have a condition called prehypertension which means that these people have blood pressure that is higher than “normal” range, but it is not high enough to be considered high blood pressure. Age makes a difference also. Those people under the age of 45 can be affected and this usually happens more to men than women under 45. However, for people 65 and older, women are more prone to have hypertension. Ethnically, African Americans are more at risk than other groups (The Centers for Disease Control). For women, all of these factors can be quite damaging, especially when they do not reach their target blood pressure goals. In fact, 55.9% of women are “more likely to be obese and have high cholesterol” (Reinberg 2). Also, although many women meet their blood pressure target goals, 54% do not. Beyond this, women are less likely than men to receive the medications they need to lower high blood pressure or medications to lower cholesterol (Reinberg 2). A study by the American Heart Association of 28,888 American women, aged 45 or older, who supposedly did not have hypertension, found that by taking both calcium and vitamin D, blood pressure could be lowered. The reason they found this was because there were 8,710 cases of hypertension inside the group that had not been diagnosed (Medical News Today 1). Another study by The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute found that one in three adults have high blood pressure. Anyone with blood numbers over 120/80 should be checked because the individual is heading towards hypertension. They also found that less than half of all patients received the appropriate medication for hypertension (The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). 3 The Risk of Hypertension for African American Women African American women are at high risk for hypertension. There are several studies that have provided information about this issue. A study by Mary S. Webb and Lois O. Gonzalez studied 47 African American when between the ages of 23 and 77 (mean age was 50). These women held professional degrees and each had a family history of hypertension. The researchers held a series of focus groups to obtain their information. They found that many themes were apparent in the groups. One theme was that most women felt that they would develop hypertension and its complications because hypertension ran in the family. They saw parents and other family members (e.g. children, siblings) develop the disease over time. They also saw family member with heart disease, strokes or heart failure because of it. In this study, a second theme was that they understood the factors that created a risk of heart disease like poor diet, dietary habits, and sedentary lifestyle. Although stress has not been shown to be a solid factor contributing to hypertension in the general population, Webb and Gonzalez saw that for African American women, it was a strong factor. The women in the study said that they felt they were under constant stress because of the way the general population treated them. As an example, many African America women stated they faced “daily assault” on their dignity and that “just being black is a struggle” (259). These two issues made them feel that stress is a contributing factor for African American women. Finally, the same study cited barriers that were in the way to effective hypertension management. Some of these barriers include: day to day hassles which include work and family responsibilities, inadequate incomes that prevent African American women from getting the health exams or prescriptions they need, and the perception that many physicians are racist against them. In another study, Jessica D. Jones, Carolyn M. Tucker and Keith C. Herman studied stress and nutrition in African American women who had hypertension. They based their research on the fact that people with hypertension needed to change their eating habits in order to reduce the risk of hypertension. They found several issues that needed to be corrected. They found that African American women ate fewer fruits and vegetables than other populations and that there was more fat in their diet, especially in traditional dishes. They also found environmental barriers such as lack of transportation, lack of access to fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis and lack of support from family and friends. Also, as in the study by Webb and Gonzalez, Jones, Tucker and Hermann found that stress was a perceived factor in hypertension for African American women. Jones, Tucker and Hermann found that physical and behavioral stress were “unique predictors” (669) of hypertension. They also found that higher levels of physical stress showed higher scores on health promoting nutrition behavior scales. 4 Hypertension’s Affect on Women and Relationships When a woman is diagnosed with hypertension, their life must change because they will have an opportunity to change their lifestyle and their eating habits. Most will need a diet that is low in sodium, fats and in low cholesterol foods. This may mean that many will need to instruct their families about changing their eating habits, exercising more and developing a healthier lifestyle. Families may find that exercising together would be helpful if they enjoy each other’s company. If the family member who makes the meals is not the individual with high blood pressure, they should go to a dietician with the family member who has hypertension so that they can understand how to cook for the family member (National Kidney Foundation). Hypertension is a chronic problem which means that it will affect family members over time. It could also affect a woman’s relationship with her romantic partner because she may find that when she has sex, her high blood pressure symptoms may be stronger. According to the Mayo Clinic, hypertension can reduce blood flow to the vagina which may mean lack of sexual desire for some women. Women may also find that they have dryness in the vagina, difficulty reaching orgasm or difficulty with arousal. Unfortunately, some blood pressure medications will reduce a woman’s sexual desire. When women have their hypertension under control, they find that this does not cause as much a problem. Women do not have problems at work or at home when their blood pressure is under control. However, if they have not been diagnosed, they may find that they are prone to symptoms of high pressure at certain times. Stress can bring about feelings of anxiety, worry, depression and other symptoms. Also, stuffing emotions instead of expressing them can cause more problems with hypertension (Marcel 1). Women must learn how to manage their stress by calming their minds so that this can help them manage their stress (Marcel 1). Women who are pregnant and who have a history of high blood pressure in their family may be more prone to high blood pressure than others. However, some women have Preeclampsia, which is the medical term for high blood pressure during pregnancy. This usually will happen during the 20th week of pregnancy, and is “is related to increased blood pressure and protein in the mothers urine” (MedicineNet), which is a sign that there are kidney problems. Preeclampsia can also create other problems. According to Paul Gibson, hypertension is one of the most common issues for pregnant women and it occurs in about five percent of pregnancies. Women who already have hypertension (about 25% of them) are more prone to have preeclampsia also. These are challenges that women have that will mean that they will have to watch how they eat and work while they are pregnant. I actually know several people with hypertension and most of the ones I know had hypertension that ran in their family. One friend’s grandmother died many years ago of heart failure that was due to high blood pressure. Those friends who have hypertension are very clear about what they must do in order to keep from having an attack as they call it. What they mean is that they understand the high blood symptoms that they must be aware of as they go throughout their day. As an example, one friend says that her face will get hot and her heart will feel like it is racing, then she may feel dizzy and begin to sweat. She knows at that time that she will need to slow down or sit down and wait for the issue to pass. Since she has been taking her medication on a regular basis, she has been able to keep these symptoms from happening for the most part. Her family is a big support to her and since she is the cook, she makes sure that everyone eats a healthy diet. 5 Recommendations The first recommendations I would make to improve this heath issue is to make sure that there were community health programs given in churches, community centers and health facilities so that women would have more education about this issue. I would gear these programs specifically to women because I think that there are times when women just want to hear about those things that pertain to women. I am not sure that women are always interested in programs that are for the general public. I think this could be accomplished by asking healthcare officials who do work in the community to present programs specifically for women. These programs would consist of workshops that provide specific information for women about how to tell whether they have high blood pressure, ideas for better nutrition, how to manage their blood pressure and their stress and any other issues that women would need to understand. I would also ask these healthcare providers to send information to places like the library and churches as well as fitness centers. In other words I would want them to place information in any place where women would go. I would also want women to have information about no cost or low cost clinics where they can receive the screenings they need so they would not have to worry about whether they could afford it or not. The second recommendation would be to talk to doctors and other healthcare providers about the need for more intervention for women. Since many women are not getting the information they need from healthcare providers, I would want to make sure that women were targeted for this information. I would want doctors to understand why they must give this information to women and hope that they would help all women, including African American women. Social change is another issue that is important but it is difficult to understand exactly what to do in this situation. Many African American women in the various studies said that they felt discriminated against all of the time. I do not think that there is anything that can be done about this because some of this would mean that people actually have to trust each other and this is a bigger issue than I think can be done. Works Cited American Heart Association. “Understand Your Risk for High Blood Pressure.” 07 June 2011. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/UnderstandYourRiskforHighBloodPressure/Understand-Your-Risk-for-High-Blood-Pressure_UCM_002052_Article.jsp Centers for Disease Control. “High Blood Pressure Facts.” 06 June 2011. http://www.cdc.gov/bloodpressure/facts.htm Gibson, P. (2011) Hypertension and Pregnancy MEDscape http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/261435-overview Jones, C.M. Tucker, C.M. and Herman, K.C. “Stress and Nutrition Among African American Women with Hypertension.” American Journal of Health Behavior. 33.6 (2009): 661-672. CINAHL with Full Text database. Mayo Clinic. “High Blood Pressure and Sex: Overcome the challenges.” 08 June 2011. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure-and-sex/HI00091 MedicineNet. “Preeclampsia (Pregnancy Induced Hypertension)”. 08 June 2011. http://www.medicinenet.com/pregnancy_induced_hypertension/article.htm National Kidney Foundation. “High Blood Pressure: The Role of the Family”. 08 June 2011. http://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/hbpfamily.cfm Pick, Marcel. “High Blood Pressure: Lowering the Strain” Women to Women. 20 April 2011. June 2011. http://www.womentowomen.com/heartdiseaseandstroke/hypertension.aspx Reinberg, Steven. “Hypertension a Health Challenge for Women.” The Washington Post. 19 February 2008. 06 June 2011.. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ content/article/2008/02/19/AR2008021901027.html Webb, Mary S. and Gonzalez, Lois. O. “The burden of hypertension: Mental Representations of African American Women”. Issues in Mental Health Nursing. 27 (2006): 249-271. CINAHL with Full Text database. Wood, Winnie, "African American women and hypertension : their resources of information, knowledge level, and health promoting behaviors.” Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. Paper 157. http://commons.emich.edu/theses/157 Read More