Health challenges women face after menopause

Women are unique in that they go through various stages of their life revolving around their menstrual cycle and the hormone estrogen.  From their adolescent years of the onset of menstruation, to their childbearing years of pregnancies, the years of perimenopause which begins the decline of estrogen with wild swings in their menstrual cycle, to finally menopause or post menopause, signaling the end of monthly menstruation and defined as a woman having gone one complete year without a menstrual cycle.

While some women welcome menopause, glad to be done with having periods, the childbearing years also have a protective affect for women and their health. The higher hormone levels of estrogen not only keeps menstrual cycles regular, but also lowers a woman’s risk for developing several chronic diseases. Once past menopause, and estrogen levels have drop significantly, women will face new health challenges during this new phase of their life.

It is not unusual for women who enjoyed good health before menopause, to suddenly find themselves facing increased health problems. Why would this be and is it only due to the loss of estrogen?  Besides estrogen levels taking a nosedive, other shifts will happen in a woman’s body that can harm her health after menopause. Some of these changes can include developing high blood pressure for the first time or discovering their LDL or “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides have risen higher than before menopause. Although it is not certain why these health changes may occur, all women, do face unique post-menopausal health risks that can be based on genetics and other factors. Because of this unique situation, women should be very aware of these health challenges, especially of the following three to their health:

1. Heart Health

Many women worry more about breast cancer as the biggest threat to their health, but after menopause, heart disease should be their main concern. Up to one-third of women will develop cardiovascular disease – within 10 years after menopause, women can expect to see a higher risk of heart attacks.

Again, it’s the drop in estrogen that is a key contributor to the rise of heart disease after menopause. Estrogen helps keep blood vessels flexible contracting and expanding to accommodate blood flow. Without sufficient estrogen flowing through the body, this benefit goes away. Couple this with a rise in blood pressure leading to thickening of artery walls, and a post-menopausal women’s risk of heart disease shoots up.

What can women do: The best bet for women to reduce their risk of heart disease after menopause, is to live a heart healthy lifestyle. If smoking quit, start eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruit, lean meat and fish, and low in sugar and become more physically active. Exercise is a must – each week women should aim to be physically active at least 150 minutes of doing moderate to vigorous exercise.

Important heart numbers all post-menopausal women should know are their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar numbers and their body mass index (BMI). While estrogen does protect the heart, taking post-menopausal hormone therapy has not been shown to be effective in reducing the risk of heart disease.  However, each woman should discuss any issues of heart health with her doctor for their advice.

2. Bone Health

A woman’s bone health is another area estrogen plays a vital role in protecting. The year before the final menstrual period and continuing for about three years after, bone loss in post-menopausal women is rapid. This will accelerate their risk of developing the brittle bone disease of osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis is a disease in which the bones become thin and weak making fractures more like to happen.  This disease affects women 5 times more than men during their lifetime.

Osteoporosis is a silent disease as symptoms may not develop for decades. A fracture can often be the sign of it.  This is why women 65 and older should get a bone mineral density test called DXA or DEXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry) that measure bone thickness in the spine, hips, hands, heels, and wrists.

What can women do: To keep bones strong, weight bearing exercise is a good start.  Examples of weight bearing exercise include brisk walking or jogging, jumping rope, or lifting weights.  Swimming or riding a bicycle, while good for heart health, are not considered weight bearing exercises. Other factors that help keep bones strong is to not smoke, eat a diet rich in calcium (milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, canned fish such as salmon and sardines, and dark leafy greens) and obtain sufficient vitamin D (milk, fortified orange juice, cereal and sun exposure of least 15 minutes several days a week).

3.  Weight Gain

Many women will find that suddenly after menopause, packing on the pounds has become easier. A study on menopause found that almost 30 percent of women going through the change gained 5 percent or more of their body weight in just six years. This extra weight gained tends to occur primarily in the abdomen, putting a woman’s health at risk.  This abdominal fat increases a woman’s risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and certain types of cancer including breast cancer.

Generally before menopause, weight gain in women tends to accumulate in the hips, thighs, and buttocks. But with the shift in estrogen levels, any weight gain is more likely to occur in the midsection.  This, along with sleep problems, night sweats, and changes in mood, can interfere with eating a healthy diet.

What can women do:  To prevent excess weight gain, especially in the abdominal area, women need to be vigilant by incorporating the following tips:

·      Exercise moderate to vigorously most if not all days of the week for at least 30-60 minutes

·      Make every bite count towards health by including more fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans,  and fish, eating 3 meals a day, and to stop eating at least 3 hours before bedtime. Keep portions in check and eat meals with healthy fats such as olive oil and avocadoes.

·      Take advantage of opportunities each day to stand more and sit less, take the stairs instead of elevators or escalators, walk while talking on cell phones, and get up at least every 30 minutes throughout the day to move.

·      Get plenty of high-quality sleep