Study finds couples often share high blood pressure

Atlanta - Couples often share homes, habits and lifestyles.

A recent study finds they may also share high blood pressure.

Researchers who studied close to 4,000 heterosexual couples in the US, UK, China and India found that, if one spouse or partner has hypertension, the other likely does, too.

Professor Jithin Sam Varghese, an assistant professor at the Emory Global Diabetes Research Center and Rollins Schools Public Health, co-led the study.

The rate of both partners or spouses having high blood pressure, Varghese says, was about 47% in England, 38% in the US, 21% in China and 20% in India. 

"This is definitely something that couples should talk about with each other and with the physician," Vaghese says. 

Varghese says their findings point to a need for health care providers to create couple-centered approaches to help spouses or partners get better control of their blood pressure as a team.

Varghese says couples-based interventions could be designed to help couples learn to eat healthier food together, exercise together or hold each other accountable for taking their blood pressure medication.

They could also team up together to see their doctor, he says.

Nearly half of American adults have high blood pressure, and because hypertension often has few warning signs, many people are unaware their blood pressure is too high, putting them at risk of stroke and other serious complications.

Varghese encourages couples to partner together, to learn more about their blood pressure.

"This strategy may potentially be a way to bring your family member (to see the doctor)," he says.  "Suppose that you have hypertension, bring your family member, also, to check if they have high blood pressure."

if it's too high, your doctor can help you talk through your options.