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MONDAY, Nov. 30, 2020<\/p>\n
Heart disease<\/a> risk increases in women as they near menopause<\/a>, so it’s crucial to monitor their health and take preventive measures as needed, a new American Heart<\/a> Association (AHA) scientific statement says.<\/p>\n “Over the past 20 years, our knowledge of how the menopause transition<\/a> might contribute to cardiovascular disease<\/a> has been dramatically evolving,” Samar El Khoudary, chair of the writing committee, said in an AHA news release. She is an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n “We have accumulated data consistently pointing to the menopause<\/a> transition as a time of change in cardiovascular health. Importantly, the latest American Heart<\/a> Association guidelines that are specific to women, which were published in 2011, did not include the data that is now available on menopause<\/a> as a time of increased risk for women’s heart health. As such, there is a compelling need to discuss the implications of this accumulating body of literature on this topic,” explained El Khoudary.<\/p>\n Changes in hormones, body composition, cholesterol<\/a> and blood vessel health as women transition to menopause<\/a> can increase the risk of developing heart disease<\/a> after their periods cease, the authors noted.<\/p>\n For many women, menopause<\/a> begins in their late 40s to mid-50s. Before menopause transition<\/a>, women produce the female sex hormone estrogen, which may have heart protective effects. During menopause<\/a> transition, women’s ovaries stop producing as much estrogen. This can also occur if a woman has one or both ovaries removed.<\/p>\n There is ongoing research into how hormone therapy<\/a> might protect against heart disease<\/a>, and leading medical societies endorse the use of hormone therapy<\/a> for certain women who’ve recently started menopause transition.<\/p>\n The AHA statement notes that some common menopause symptoms<\/a> — such as hot flashes<\/a>, night sweats<\/a>, depression<\/a> and sleep problems<\/a> — have been linked with heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n Also, body changes that occur during menopause, such as increased abdominal fat<\/a> and fat around organs, are associated with an increased risk of heart disease<\/a> and cancer<\/a> death.<\/p>\n Cholesterol levels<\/a>, vascular vulnerability and metabolic abnormalities appear to increase with menopause beyond the effects of normal aging<\/a>, according to the statement.<\/p>\n In addition, only about 7% of women transitioning to menopause meet physical activity guidelines, and fewer than 20% consistently eat a healthy diet<\/a>, the AHA said.<\/p>\n So who is more at risk?<\/p>\n Women who begin menopause at an earlier age have a higher risk of heart disease<\/a>, and many Hispanic and Black women in the United States experience menopause at younger ages, the AHA said.<\/p>\n The statement emphasizes the importance of monitoring women’s health during midlife and viewing this stage as a critical window for applying early intervention strategies, El Khoudary said.<\/p>\n “Thus, health care professionals may consider an aggressive, prevention<\/a>-based approach for women during this stage in their lives to decrease the probability of a future cardiovascular disease<\/a> occurrence, such as heart attack<\/a> or stroke<\/a>,” El Khoudary added.<\/p>\n
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