High blood pressure is potentially more dangerous for women than men and may need to be treated more aggressively, according to a new study reported by the Business-Standard.

In a new study, published in the December edition of Therapeutic Advances in Cardiovascular Disease, researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for the first time found "significant differences" in the mechanisms that causes high blood pressure in women compared to men. The medical community originally thought high blood pressure was the same for both sexes and treatment was based on that premise.

"This is the first study to consider sex as an element in the selection of antihypertensive agents or base the choice of a specific drug on the various factors accounting for the elevation in blood pressure," Carlos Ferrario, lead author of the study and professor of surgery at Wake Forest Baptist, said in a statement.

Ferrario said there has been a significant decline in cardiovascular disease mortality in men during the last 20 to 30 years, while the illness has become the leading cause of death in women in the United States.

In a comparative study, researchers examined 100 men and women age 53 and older with untreated high blood pressure and no other major diseases using an array of specialized tests that indicated whether ether the heart or the blood vessels were primarily involved in elevating the blood pressure. The tests measured-the forces involved in the circulation of blood -and hormonal characteristics of the mechanisms involved in the development of high blood pressure in men and women.

About 30 to 40 percent more vascular disease in the women compared to the men for the same level of elevated blood pressure, the Business-Standard reported. They also found substantial physiologic differences in the women's cardiovascular system, including types and levels of hormones involved in blood pressure regulation, that contribute to the severity and frequency of heart disease.

"Our study findings suggest a need to better understand the female sex-specific underpinnings of the hypertensive processes to tailor optimal treatments for this vulnerable population," Ferrario said.

Ferrario said the study suggests that doctor's should reevaluate protocols to treat women with high blood pressure.