Pandemic Didn't Help Our Blood Pressure

Study finds noticeable increase, especially among women
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 7, 2021 12:07 PM CST
Our Blood Pressure Shot Up in Pandemic
   (Getty/Jupiterimages)

A new study of nearly a half-million Americans presents pretty clear evidence that the pandemic is doing bad things to our blood pressure, reports CNN. And that's especially true for women. The study, published in Circulation by researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, showed a significant increase in blood pressure readings from April to December 2020 in comparison to 2019, reports the New York Times. Normal blood pressure is 120/80, but during the those latter months, the top number (systolic pressure) rose an average of 1.1 to 2.5 points, and the bottom number (diastolic blood pressure) rose 0.14 to 0.53 points. Those spikes are "concerning" because of the implications about the collective health of Americans, says lead author Dr. Luke Laffin, per Today.com.

"Even small changes in average blood pressure in the population can have a huge impact on the number of strokes, heart failure events, and heart attacks that we’re likely to be seeing in the coming months," adds Dr. Donald M. Lloyd-Jones, president of the American Heart Association, who was not connected to the study. He said the results "are not surprising but are shocking." Researchers blame a slew of contributing factors: less exercise, more stress, unhealthier diets, and worse sleep.

The results held true for men and women and across all age groups, though female study participants saw bigger increases in both their systolic and diastolic numbers. "We did see more pronounced increases in blood pressure in women," says Laffin. Why is unclear, but "there's data to suggest that the pandemic has tended to place more of an outsized burden on women, particularly women that work." The Times notes that critics fault the study for failing to include information on race and ethnicity, especially because Black Americans have higher rates of high blood pressure and have been hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic. (More blood pressure stories.)

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