Monitoring the health and lifestyle of women while incorporating early intervention strategies for good cardiovascular health is important, especially in midlife and menopause, to prevent heart disease in AHA’s diary, traffic.
According to the AHA, hormone therapy during the transition period into menopause can also help reduce the risk of heart disease.
“Over the past 20 years, our understanding of how the transition from menopause can contribute to cardiovascular disease has increased dramatically. We have collected data that consistently point to the transition to menopause as a time of cardiovascular health change, ”Samar R. El Khoudary, Ph.D., MPH, Chair of the Statement Writing Committee and Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute said in a press release.
Physiological changes during menopause, such as B. increased belly fat and visceral fat (body fat around the organs) are associated with an increased risk of overall causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer mortality – even in people with normal body mass indexes.
In addition, cholesterol levels, metabolic syndrome risk, and vascular susceptibility appear to increase with menopause beyond the effects of normal aging.
For many women, the transition to menopause begins when they are in their late 40s to mid-50s. Before this transition, women produce estrogen, which can also have cardio-protective effects. When women make the natural transition into menopause, their ovaries stop producing as much estrogen, AHA said. The changes can also occur from surgical menopause (a partial or total hysterectomy, which involves removing one or both ovaries).
Because the increase in risk of heart disease during menopause is linked to a decrease in estrogen production, health professionals and scientists have been investigating whether hormone therapy can help reduce cardiovascular risk.
“There is research pointing to the potential cardiovascular benefits of certain combinations of hormone therapies when initiated in early but not late menopause,” said AHA. “Further research is needed to evaluate the role of other hormonal therapies and to determine how long these interventions have had on cardio-metabolic health.”
In addition, some studies show that the benefits of hormone therapy – including a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes and protection from bone loss – outweigh the risks for most women in early menopause.
“Current recommendations from leading medical societies support the use of hormone therapy in women who have recently transitioned into menopause with appropriate indications,” said AHA.
Healthcare professionals should also consider taking an aggressive, preventative approach to women during the transition into menopause to reduce the chance of future cardiovascular diseases like heart attack or stroke, El Khoudary said.
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