It’s not an old wives’ tale

It’s long been joked that marriage can raise blood pressure levels.

Now research suggests it’s more than an old wives’ tale – and that couples are more likely to have the potentially deadly condition.

Almost half of people in England were found to have hypertension, which if left untreated can raise the risk of heart attack and stroke.

And the risk was nine per cent higher if people were married, according to the US researchers.

They suggest doctors should provide couples joint screening and treatment programmes, to tackle the problem together.

Researchers wanted to test if many married couples who often have the same interests, living environment, lifestyle habits and health outcomes may also share high blood pressure.

They carried out analysis on blood pressure measures from 1,086 English couples alongside 3,989 US, 6,514 Chinese and 22,389 Indian couples.

People were recorded as having hypertension if they had either systolic blood pressure higher than 140 mm Hg, diastolic greater than 90 mm Hg, or if they answered yes when asked if they had a history of high blood pressure.

Some 47 per cent of couples in England, with an average age of 74.2 in husbands and 72.5 in wives, were found to have high blood pressure, higher than 38 per cent in the US, 21 per cent in China and 20 per cent in India.

Compared to wives married to husbands without high blood pressure, those with husbands with high blood pressure were 9 per cent more likely to have high blood pressure.

Similar associations were seen for husbands with wives and high blood pressure, according to the findings published in Journal of the American Heart Association.

Experts said the findings highlight the potential benefits of using couple-based approaches for high blood pressure diagnosis and management, such as couple-based screening, skills training or joint participation in programmes, rather than treating people individually.

Bethany Barone Gibbs, associate professor at the School of Public Health at West Virginia University, said: ‘If your spouse has hypertension, you are more likely to have hypertension, too.

‘Following this idea, making lifestyle changes, such as being more active, reducing stress or eating a healthier diet, can all reduce blood pressure; however, these changes may be difficult to achieve and, more importantly, sustain if your spouse or partner are not making changes with you.’