Blood Pressure on the rise among women

"Blood pressure that is higher than optimal is among the leading two or three risks for cardiovascular disease, if not the leading one," said Majid Ezzati, an associate professor of international health at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the report in the Feb. 12 issue of Circulation. About one in five American adults has "uncontrolled high blood pressure," defined as a systolic pressure -- the higher number of the 140/90 reading -- above 140, according to the state-by-state survey. A decline has continued for American men, with the rate dropping from 19 percent to 17 percent in the early 2000s. But the incidence among American women increased from 17 percent to more than 22 percent during that same period.

Bonnie - this is extremely telling as blood pressure is believed to be one of the most important factors in assessing cardiac risk in women.