The epidemiology of the association between hypertension and menopause.

Menopause is a normal aging phenomenon in women and consists of the gradual transition from the reproductive to the non-reproductive phase of life. The median age at the menopause is currently around 50 years. As a result of the increasing life expectancy in the first and second worlds, many women will be postmenopausal for over one-third of their lives. The influence of menopause per se on blood pressure remains uncertain. Recent experimental and epidemiological evidence supports the hypothesis that oestrogen deficiency may induce endothelial and vascular dysfunction and potentiate the age-related increase in systolic pressure, possibly as a consequence of a reduced compliance of the large arteries. However, the latter hypothesis requires further investigation.