Characteristics and prognosis for women with hypertension in a community: results of a longitudinal study in Göteborg, Sweden.

1. During the years 1968-69 a population study of 1462 women aged 38-60 years was carried out in Göteborg, Sweden. A total of 126 women were classified as hypertensive. 2. Hypertensive women reported a history of albuminuria and hypertension during pregnancy more often than women in the general population. Albuminuria, alterations of the eye-ground vessels and ECG changes indicating left ventricular strain were more often found in hypertensive women. Hypertensive women were on average heavier. 3. The same population sample was re-studied 6 years later. Two of the 126 women classified as hypertensive had died during the 6 years interval since the first examination, both from myocardial infarction. The death rate was similar to the population sample as a whole.