American Heart Association Themed Issue Journal Report: Journal Edition Dedicated to Women's Unique Hypertens...( DALLAS Feb. 7 --- Women face uni...),Health

DALLAS, Feb. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- Women face unique risks for developing hypertension and special challenges in keeping their high blood pressure under control, according to new research published in a special themed issue of Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The themed issue features more than 45 studies and editorials related to women and hypertension. The publication commemorates the fifth anniversary of the launch of the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women movement, which raises awareness of heart disease risks for women.

"Our goals were to help convey the importance of prevention and treatment of hypertension and cardiovascular disease in women, to emphasize that hypertension is a critical cardiovascular risk factor in women, and to publish the newest and best research related to hypertension in women," said John E. Hall, Ph.D., Hypertension Editor-in-Chief, and Arthur C. Guyton Professor and Chair and Associate Vice Chancellor of Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Miss.

Data from the American Heart Association Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics -- 2008 Update shows that high blood pressure kills significantly more women than men and is two to three times more common in women who take oral contraceptives than in women who don't.

In his preface to the journal, Hall cited previous studies that show only about 60 percent of hypertensive women are treated, and among those treated, only about a third had their blood pressure controlled at optimum levels. "Thus, inadequate control of high blood pressure continues to be the most important, and potentially treatable, cause of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women," he said.

"Through Go Red For Women the American Heart Association provides education and resources to help women live heart-healthy lives. More importantly, our movement puts a face on heart disease -- the No. 1 killer of women," said
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