Validity of Casual Blood Pressure in Women

In order to assess the prognostic significance of causal BP recordings, 64 women not treated for hypertension were selected from a population survey and their BP was followed for six years. In addition, a number of parameters considered to be of interest in connection with hypertension were examined. The two age‐matched study groups comprised women with pressures above the 95th percentile and those with pressures below the 30th percentile, respectively. The differences in BP between the two groups persisted at repeated casual BP measurements three and six years after the initial examination. Similar differences in BP between the two groups were also found after rest. The casual BP measurement predicted future BP readings with about the same accuracy as the BP measurement after rest. The subjects in the high BP group were significantly more obese and had significantly higher B‐hematocrit, fS‐triglycerides and S‐urate levels than those in the low BP group. The latter differences were not related to the BP level, but to the degree of obesity. The heart rate was significantly higher and codable ST and T wave changes in the ECG were present more often in the group above the 95th percentile. This study has shown that women, like men, with moderately high BPs have significantly higher levels of some parameters considered to be risk factors in connection with hypertension.