Previously, the connection between married life and high blood pressure was often discussed in a joking manner. Researchers did not consider this issue worthy of serious investigation.
High blood pressure, despite its often subtle symptoms, can be life-threatening. Currently, 1.28 billion people worldwide suffer from hypertension. Recently, the disease has been affecting younger individuals: more and more people aged 25 to 30 are joining the ranks of those with high blood pressure. Only half of those suffering from hypertension are receiving treatment. Those who do not seek treatment face an increased risk of and strokes.
According to researchers from West Virginia University, the risk of hypertension is nine percent higher for married individuals, as reported by the Daily Mail.
What Scientists Discovered
The university team set out to investigate whether husbands and wives, who typically share similar interests, living conditions, lifestyles, and health statuses, suffer from high blood pressure.
Researchers analyzed blood pressure readings from 1,086 English couples, 6,514 Chinese couples, 22,389 Indian couples, and 3,989 couples from the United States.
The researchers considered participants to have hypertension if their blood pressure exceeded 140/90 mmHg.
The measurements revealed that approximately 47 percent of English couples, over 38 percent of American couples, 21 percent of Chinese couples, and 20 percent of Indian couples had high blood .
Moreover, among those men and women whose partners had high blood pressure, the likelihood of developing hypertension was nine percent higher.
Bethany Barone Gibbs, an associate professor at the West Virginia University School of Public Health, noted, “If your spouse has hypertension, you’re likely to have it too.”
Given the findings of the study, the researchers emphasized the potential benefits of couple-based diagnosis and treatment for high blood pressure instead of individual treatment for partners.
The study’s results were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.
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