High blood pressure common in female athletes

Nearly half of female collegiate athletes at two universities had high blood pressure, according to a small study to be presented later at a now-virtual American College of Cardiology conference. More than 300 female athletes playing sports at the University of Florida or University of Georgia had their blood pressure measured in a preseason exam. Based on guidelines defining readings lower than 120/80 as normal, 47% of the athletes had high blood pressure, which is much higher than the 5% to 10% expected for all college-age women. Blood pressure differed by sport: Softball players had higher readings than gymnasts, for example. The researchers say more study is needed to understand why, especially because female athletes aren’t as well-studied as their male counterparts.