Mortality Risk Associated With Resistant Hypertension Among Women: Analysis from Three Prospective Cohorts Encompassing the Spectrum of Women's Heart Disease.

Abstract

Women are at greater risk of developing resistant hypertension (RH) than men, yet scarce data exist on RH-associated outcomes in women. We aimed to determine all-cause mortality risk associated with apparent RH (aRH) among women across the spectrum of underlying coronary disease. We analyzed data from St. James Women Take Heart (WTH; women without coronary disease at baseline), Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (women with signs/symptoms of ischemia at baseline), and the INternational VErapamil-Trandolapril STudy (INVEST; women with coronary artery disease and hypertension at baseline), totaling 15,108 adult women with no hypertension, non-RH (blood pressure [BP] ≥140/90 mmHg on ≤2 drugs or BP <140/90 mmHg on 1-3 drugs), or aRH (BP ≥140/90 mmHg on ≥3 drugs or anyone on ≥4 drugs) at baseline. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Prevalence of aRH ranged from 0.4% (WTH) to 10.6% (INVEST). Women with aRH, compared to those without, were older, more often black, and more likely to be obese or diabetic. Pooling all cohorts, risk for all-cause death was greater in women with aRH than in women with non-RH (adjusted HR 1.40; 95% CI 1.27-1.55) and women without hypertension (adjusted HR 2.34; 95% CI 1.76-3.11) over a median follow-up of 14.3 years. aRH prevalence in women varies according to underlying coronary disease, and aRH is associated with a substantial, early, and sustained increased risk of all-cause death. Additional research into early recognition and prevention strategies for RH are needed, especially in black and older women, and those with known cardiovascular risk factors.