An international study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that if your blood pressure rises with time, your spouse’s might also.

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a common complaint among Americans, and the risk of hypertension rises with age. According to the AHA, about 47 percent of adult Americans had high blood pressure in 2020, and it contributed to 120,000 deaths that year.

In the study, researchers looked at rates of high blood pressure among nearly 34,000 heterosexual couples worldwide: 4,000 U.S. couples, 1,100 couples in England, more than 6,500 Chinese couples, and more than 22,000 Indian couples. High blood pressure was defined as systolic (the upper number in a reading) blood pressure higher than 140 mmHg or diastolic greater than 90 mmHg, as measured by health professionals.

The prevalence of both spouses or partners having high blood pressure was about 47 percent in England, 38 percent in the U.S., 21 percent in China, and 20 percent in India. The results didn’t seem to vary regardless of a couple’s income, age, education or how long they’d been married.

“Lifestyle changes such as being more active, reducing stress, or eating a healthier diet, can all reduce blood pressure; however, these changes may be difficult to achieve and, more importantly, sustain if your spouse or partner [and greater family unit] are not making changes with you,” said Bethany Barone Gibbs, chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at the School of Public Health at West Virginia University.