Women, High Blood Pressure, and Sexual Dysfunction

The frequency with which women experience ‘female sexual dysfunction’ (FSD) varies, according to how you ask the question. The prevailing idea is that 43% of women have FSD, but it’s only bothersome for 24% of them.

Now there is information from Greece tying the occurrence of FSD to high blood pressure. A study of 400 women in Athens found that sexual dysfunction (persistent or recurrent decrease in sexual desire, difficulty or inability to achieve an orgasm, and pain during intercourse) is twice as common in women with hypertension (42%) as in those with normal blood pressure (19%). And it was slightly more frequent in those who were taking anti-hypertensive medications, those who were older, and those who had had high blood pressure longer.

These findings parallel those in men, to a certain extent. Men with erectile dysfunction ( ED ) may have atherosclerosis of the penile arteries, which is indicative of general atherosclerosis and therefore a risk factor for hypertension; and some anti-hypertensive drugs include impotence among their side effects.