Teenage Girls’ Hearts Protected Against Stress
Reported July 22, 2005
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — New research shows young girls may hold the secret to healthy hearts. A study from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta finds girls between ages 16 and 18 have lower rates of blood pressure increase after activity than males in the same age group.
Blood pressure and heart rates were measured every 15 minutes as the teenagers played a competitive video game for one hour. Researchers found females had less of an increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) than males. All females had lower blood pressure, but European-American females had lower rates than African-American females.
While females had lower blood pressure after stress activity, they had slightly higher heart rates than males.
“Very few studies have reported a teenager’s response to prolonged mental stress,” says Gaston Kapuku, M.D., Ph.D., a research cardiologist and lead author of the study. “Our findings indicate that females are protected against the effects of stress as demonstrated by their ability to maintain lower blood pressure.”
Researchers hope by understanding how to prevent excessive increases in blood pressure, they can develop a way to prevent cardiovascular damage caused by stress.
SOURCE: The International Society on Hypertension In Blacks in San Juan, Puerto Rico, July 15-18, 2005
