Hypertension among women of reproductive age: Impact of 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association high blood pressure guideline

Objective

To estimate the prevalence of hypertension and antihypertensive medication recommended among U.S. reproductive-aged women according to the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline as compared with the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC7) guideline and to identify factors associated with newly classified hypertensive women.

Methods

We analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005–2014. Hypertension was defined using blood pressure measurements and/or self-reported antihypertensive medication use. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust error variance were conducted.

Results

Among 4,575 (weighted n ​= ​40,194,602) non-pregnant women aged 20–44 years, the prevalence of hypertension was 16.5% using the 2017 guideline, and 7.8% based on the JNC7 guideline. Following the 2017 guideline, 8.6% would be recommended for antihypertensive medication, similar to 8.5% according to JNC7 guideline. Following the 2017 guideline, women with older age (35–44 years), obesity, and diabetes were more likely, while Hispanic women were less likely, to be newly classified as hypertensive.

Conclusion

Among reproductive-aged women, compared to JNC7 guidelines, the prevalence of hypertension increased by 112% following the 2017 guideline, but the percentage of women recommended for antihypertensive medication was similar.