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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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How Does Menopause Raise Heart Disease Risk? Menopause is a natural biological process. It occurs when a woman has not menstruated in 12 consecutive months and can no longer become pregnant naturally. It usually begins between the ages of 45 and 55 though it can develop before or after this age range. Women with menopause may have physical symptoms like hot flashes, night sweat and weight gain, as well as emotional symptoms that may disrupt sleep, lower energy or affect emotional health. Common complications of menopause include slower metabolic function; osteoporosis, or weaker bones with reduced mass and strength; mood or sudden emotional changes; cataracts; periodontal disease; urinary incontinence; and vulvovaginal atrophy. But one health concern that is ignored by many is heart disease or blood vessel disease. While menopause itself does not cause heart disease, a decline in the natural hormone estrogen may be a factor that raise the heart disease risk among post-menopausal women. During menopause, levels of the female hormone estrogen drop significantly. Estrogen is important because it helps protect a number of different parts of the body, including heart and blood vessels, bones, brain, skin and vagina. Estrogen protects the arteries of a woman’s heart by reducing build-up of fatty plaque. The heart and blood vessels become stiff and less elastic with the drop of estrogen levels. Blood pressure tends to rise leading to hypertension (high blood pressure). Elevated blood pressure can put added strain on the heart, increasing the risk of heart and circulatory disease. Abnormal heart rhythms like atrial fibrillation (AFib) may occur in women around the time they go through menopause, causing faster heart rates. AFib can also be brought on by hypertension that is more common after menopause.
Lack of estrogen causes detrimental changes in the
cholesterol and blood fats: the good cholesterol (HDL) may go down, and the bad
cholesterol (LDL) may go up, raising the likelihood of heart disease.
Triglycerides, another kind of fat in the blood, also rises because of lower
estrogen.
Women going through menopause can also become more resistant to insulin. As a result, women are more likely to become prediabetic and diabetic as they transition from pre-menopause to menopause. Diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Estrogen affects where women store fat and how it is burnt. Lower levels of estrogen can cause the metabolism to slow. Weight gain, another risk factor for heart disease, may result. For some women who experience early menopause (about one percent), before the age of 40, their risk of premature heart and circulatory disease is particularly high. They will also face elevated risk of osteoporosis (a condition that weakens bones). Family history may play a role, but early menopause can also be linked to thyroid disease, viral infection and eating disorders. Therefore, it is important for women to understand that while menopause transition is natural, some of the symptoms associated with it should not be ignored. These include palpitations, shortness of breath, pressure in the chest, headaches, lightheadedness or dizziness, jaw ache, swelling of the feet, and difficulty lying flat. Heart palpitations are not the same as natural flutters as it may be due to AFib. Shortness of breath can be an indication of congestive heart failure or coronary artery disease, and it can also be a common symptom of AFib. If a feeling of fullness, squeezing or dull pressure in the chest that does not go away or that goes away and come back, jaw ache, can both be a warning of a heart attack in women. Hypertension can induce headaches, too. Disorders like diabetes, heart failure, or AFib, can display lightheadedness or dizziness. Difficulty lying flat, swelling of the feet might suggest that fluid could be accumulating in the legs because of congestive heart failure.
As usual, a healthy lifestyle is the way to
prevent heart disease in women. Avoiding or quitting smoking, maintaining a
healthy body weight, exercising throughout the week, eat well, as well as
treating and controlling medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, high
cholesterol are things that should be incorporated in the lifestyle. Date: April 09, 2020
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