We have lost over five million people worldwide to COVID. Not only did millions die from the virus, millions more are suffering from the health complications of long COVID. A study from a doctor at the Cleveland clinic found that blood pressure is up among Americans. That study used data from an employer sponsored wellness program of over 460,000 employees in every state. The results show that many people, particularly women, are now dealing with elevated blood pressure. Researchers believe that a combination of stress, increased drinking, lack of exercise and poor eating habits contributed to the rise. Below are a few more details from People:
The study looked at the results from an annual employer-sponsored wellness program that required employees to submit their blood pressure results. Using data from 464,585 people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., the researchers noticed that there was no change in blood pressure levels between 2018 and 2019. But in 2020, between April and December, the numbers jumped up significantly.
Normal blood pressure levels are less than 120/80, and in 2020 Americans had blood pressure readings that were 1.10 to 2.50 higher for the top number, and 0.14 to 0.53 higher for the lower number.
“It’s concerning because these sustained elevations can increase risk for things like strokes and heart attacks,” he said. Plus, higher blood pressure can lead to hypertension, a “silent killer” with no symptoms and something that around 100 million U.S. adults already have.
The researchers said that factors like increased drinking and stress, along with less exercise, are all likely causes of the rise in blood pressure levels.
“A lot of the factors that we saw — people going to the gym less, being more stressed, getting worse sleep, eating more poorly — those can all have a pretty significant impact on blood pressure,” Laffin said.
Both women and men had higher blood pressure levels, the researchers found, but the difference was more pronounced in women.
“We don’t know the exact reason for that. However, we do know and there’s data to suggest that the pandemic has tended to place more of an outsized burden on women, particularly women that work, and this is an employer-sponsored wellness program,” Laffin told CNN.
The article mentions that the reason women are being affected more is because the pandemic has put more of a burden on women than men. Of course it did. Three million women left the work force in 2020 to take care of their children. I am sure dealing with kids all day and in some cases working from home were factors in elevated blood pressure. I am not surprised by this study. I know that my blood pressure has gotten higher over the past year and I didn’t even have children or a partner. Despite being a damn hermit, the isolation and inability to travel definitely caused distress. My situation wasn’t as bad as most. I didn’t have a job that put me at risk nor did I have family driving me mad.
I’m sure fear was also a factor in elevated blood pressure. I honestly believe we all are suffering from some form of PTSD because of the uncertainty and instability of the last year. I hope that as everything begins to open up, people have more access to the gym and that blood pressure will begin to decrease. I also hope to see more women going back to work while men take on some of the burden (wishful thinking I know). There will be another covid exodus, but it will be women leaving their relationships and marriages if they are not supported by society and their partners.
Photos credit: Cottonbro, Anna Shvets, and Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels, Charles Deluvio on Unsplash
When the pandemic hit I was working full time, in grad school part time and parenting 5 kids including twins and a special needs child. All that to say…I am definitely in the number of women who’s BP is rising! Still not recovered but no choice it seems but to keep going smh
Mine’s up! But my doctor attributed it to the traffic on the way to her office and then the conversation we had just had about my anger and frustration at the guy doing minor repairs on one of our bathrooms. She is having me monitor it. Okay today. The bathroom repairs are done.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women people!! Not cancer, not anything else. Please talk to your doctor or health care provider if you have heart disease in your family and to assess your risk level.
My BP went up over the past year and I don’t have kids and exercised more than ever. IA w Oya, it was general stress and anxiety. Even for ppl who did not get COVID like me, there have been lots of negative health impacts of COVID, I call them COVID-adjacent illnesses, like my hypertension and the way several of my colleagues developed eye disorders from being on Zoom all day every day.
Sorry to read you got covid.
No my point is I did *not* get COVID and still suffered this other illness, and that I think COVID and the lockdowns and the stress made many of us sick, so COVID hd negative health ramifications even for those who did NOT get COVID. Hope that makes sense.
Yep, checked all the boxes – poor sleep, diet, increased drinking, stress, poor excercise ✅✅✅✅✅
I went for an annual checkup last March and was alarmed at my blood pressure, but my doctor shrugged. She said everyone she’d seen for the previous six months had higher blood pressure than normal and mine was on scale with her other patients’ rises. It’s still worrisome. I’ve cut back on my drinking, upped my exercise and have cleaned up my eating a bit. Hopefully it all helps.
But honestly, we’re living in really stressful times in a country that sees stress as a badge of honor. Literally every time I express the fact that I’m stressed to someone, they say one of two things. Either it’s “It’s so good to be so busy and needed!” Or it’s “That’s nothing, look at how stressed I am!”
I gained a ton of weight and lost a lot of strength over Covid. My mom is still struggling long Covid most recently getting pneumonia. My brother in law died of Covid. Kids are not the same as past years. They are struggling beyond belief. These past two years have really taken their toll. And I feel like I’m one of the lucky ones!
Mine’s also up and I don’t even have kids but I can feel that since the pandemic I’m very restless and stressed. I went from little anxiety and a few panic attacks a year to almost constant anxiety for no reason and almost daily panic attacks. So, I’m not really surprised. The gyms just opened recently where I live which is a little light at the end of the tunnel.
It might be the vaccine
Mine was up. I have white coat syndrome but dr. Still Wanted me to monitor for 3 weeks and it went down.