High blood pressure: Getting married is causing hypertension among couples, new study finds

Tying the knot is a joyous occasion, and remembered by lovebirds as one of the happiest days of their life.

But new research suggests that this momentous day could be the first step towards a life of high blood pressure. That's not to say scientists don't think we should say "I do" - as the reason this tends to happen might not be what you expect.

High blood pressure is seen as a stepping stone to things like strokes and heart attacks. The higher your blood pressure, the harder the heart has to work to pump blood around your body.

This new study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that being married can increase your risk of developing high blood pressure. This isn't because married arguments turn bitter and stressful, however.

Researchers said: "Assortative mating leads individuals to choose a partner with similar demographic characteristics, socioeconomic position - such as education and employment - and health behaviors like alcohol and tobacco use, physical activity. As couples live together, they share the same environment and resources, and cope with common life events and stress together, which in turn shapes their health behaviors and outcomes over time.

"Factors such as stress, family intimacy, or cultural beliefs may affect the extent of health concordance within the couple."

Couples in England had the highest prevalence of high blood pressure in the study, at 47 per cent. By contrast, high blood pressure was found in 20 per cent of Indian couples, 21 per cent in China and 28 per cent in the USA.

Senior author Dr Chihua Li added: "Many people know that high blood pressure is common in middle-aged and older adults, yet we were surprised to find that among many older couples, both husband and wife had high blood pressure. For instance, in the US, among more than 35 percent of couples who were ages 50 or older, both had high blood pressure."