This study approached the practice of self care lived by the women that suffer with high blood pressure. Descriptive-exploratory study which was inspired on the Orem's self-care theory and developed with 200 women who presented high blood pressure at a Public Health Agency, located in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. The data were collected during nursing encounters, organized in categories, and analyzed according to the fundaments of the referred Theory. In this surveyed sample, about 172 (86%) women found out that they had high blood pressure problems by means of signs and symptoms related to the "climateric". It was evidenced on the women interviewed, that they presented knowledge knowledge about this syndrome, partial adherence to the treatment, and consequently inefficient practice of self-care, related to this deficit. In this way, it is possible to conclude that the self-care practice was influenced by the age, by disease stage development, and by the social, economic and health problems.
Women's health; Hypertension; Health education; Self-care
