Why menopause raises women’s risk for heart disease
/Why menopause raises women’s risk for heart disease
Here’s a fact that should get women’s attention: About 10 years after menopause, the number of women who have heart attacks spikes. And don’t blame it on menopause. Rather it’s the changes in a woman’s physiology related to menopause that can impact a woman’s heart.
Menopause and risk of heart disease
The average age when American women enter into menopause is around fifty-one. It is during the postmenopausal years that set women up for an increased risk of several health conditions, including heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States and has killed more women than men each year since 1984.
A big factor in why women’s risk for heart disease accelerates after menopause is believed to be due to the decline in estrogen, beginning with perimenopause.
Perimenopause means “around menopause” and is also called the menopausal transition. This term refers to the time in which a woman’s body makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years and can begin eight to ten years before the onset of menopause.
In the last one to two years of perimenopause, the drop in estrogen speeds up and the ovaries begin a reduction of releasing eggs. Many women during the perimenopause phase will experience unpredictable menstrual cycles that may lengthen or shorten.
Menopause is when a woman has gone without a menstrual period for twelve consecutive months. At this stage, the ovaries have stopped completely releasing eggs and producing most of their estrogen.
Not only does a woman’s reproductive ability stop, but her lipid profile (cholesterol, triglycerides, and LDL cholesterol) go through physiological changes putting them at a higher risk of heart disease. It’s also common for blood pressure to increase after menopause and when combined with high cholesterol levels, can greatly increase a woman’s risk for a heart attack or stroke.
One other factor placing women at a higher risk for cardiovascular disease is arterial stiffness that can occur as they make the transition to and after menopause. Arterial stiffness refers to the elasticity of arteries and is measured by looking at how quickly blood flows through arteries. Stiffer arteries can lead to dysfunction in how well the heart pumps and moves blood, along with damage to the heart, kidneys, and other organs.
Steps women can take to reduce heart disease risk after menopause
Fortunately, there are many things women can do to slow down or prevent heart disease from developing both before and after menopause. These include the following:
· Eat a healthy diet of nutritious foods
The earlier in life a person starts in choosing nutrient-dense foods, the better. But even if a woman has not eaten so healthy over the years, it’s never too late to begin. The American Heart Association recommends eating a healthy diet that includes lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and skinless poultry, lean beef, and fish. A healthy diet is also low in sodium, saturated fats and sugar-sweetened beverages.
· Be physically active
Women should aim for at least 30-60 minutes of aerobic exercise most days of the week. Aerobic exercise gets your heart elevated and can help lower cholesterol and blood pressure. Examples of aerobic exercise include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, dancing, and playing tennis.
· Know heart health numbers
In order to assess risk of heart disease, women should know important numbers that determine heart health – blood pressure, total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL and LDL cholesterol.
· Reduce stress
Be mindful of stress. Living a stressful lifestyle can worsen things like high blood pressure and overall cardiovascular health. Women should seek out ways to relives stress such as doing something they enjoy leading to less feelings of stress. This could be doing yoga, reading, taking a walk outdoors, gardening, or any hobby they enjoy.
· Don’t smoke
One of the worst ways increasing heart disease risk is to take up the habit of smoking. The stakes are higher for women who do smoke. Menopause already increases the risk of heart disease so quitting smoking or never starting, is one of the best things to do.
· Limit hormone replacement therapy
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is used by some women to relieve symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness by providing adequate levels of estrogen and other hormones.
But studies have found that HRT can also increase a woman’s chances of having a stroke or heart attack. Most physicians do not recommend HRT for women anymore in order to prevent heart disease. If a woman and her doctor decide to use HRT for a short-term, it may be a reasonable approach to treating menopause symptoms.
Dr. David Samadi is the Director of Men’s Health and Urologic Oncology at St. Francis Hospital in Long Island. He’s a renowned and highly successful board certified Urologic Oncologist Expert and Robotic Surgeon in New York City, regarded as one of the leading prostate surgeons in the U.S., with a vast expertise in prostate cancer treatment and Robotic-Assisted Laparoscopic Prostatectomy. Visit Dr. Samadi’s websites at robotic oncology and prostate cancer 911.