As healthcare research has progressed and the world has started talking more about the seemingly taboo topic of menopause, our understanding of it has improved considerably. A lot of this research is connected to the relationship between cardiovascular disease and menopause, including factors like an increase in LDL (bad cholesterol) and a decrease in HDL (good cholesterol). Moreover, studies that have collected data from women over long periods of time have shown that women who experience menopause earlier than usual (45 or younger) have an increased risk of cardiovascular issues compared to women who go through it at a normal age (close to 50).
A woman’s body goes through complex hormonal changes during menopause. Early menopause, seemingly, has a detrimental impact on your cardiovascular health, but the kind of impact it has is still up for debate. Let us start off with the most discussed topic in that debate.
Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
When you’re going through menopause, your ovaries gradually stop producing estrogen. Hormone replacement therapy is a common solution to give your body some estrogen back. When you do this, you can regulate a lot of the symptoms associated with menopause like mood swings, osteoporosis, hot flashes and others. This also explains the ongoing estradiol patch shortage since it is one of the most common treatment options for women going through menopause.
Estrogen products are usually taken as a pill, a patch, a cream or taken intravaginally. When taken alone, estrogen has the potential to increase a woman’s chances of cancer. In the pre-menopausal years a woman’s body sheds endometrial cells. When you hit menopause, this stops happening and introducing menopause may cause the overgrowth of these cells. That’s also why doctors prescribe progesterone with estrogen to reverse or mitigate a surge in endometrial cells. If a woman has had hysterectomies the overgrowth is not a problem and they can be prescribed estrogen by itself.
Menopause and Cardiovascular Disease
Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55 but it can happen earlier or later as well. Your periods stop happening because your body stops producing estrogen and stops releasing eggs each month. Levels of testosterone and progesterone go down, too. The gradual slowing down of your body’s ability to produce eggs is called perimenopause. This is a transitionary period that every woman goes through before menopause. During this period, women may start experiencing symptoms of menopause even if their periods haven’t stopped. Estrogen has a protective impact on a woman’s heart.
It helps control cholesterol levels and also reduces the risk of fat building up in your arteries. It also ensures your blood vessels stay healthy. When your body’s estrogen levels start to fall fat starts building up in your arteries which makes them become narrower. This, in turn, increases the chances of you getting a stroke, a heart attack, or developing coronary heart disease. Moreover, menopause can also cause changes in your body that make you more susceptible to heart disease. Changes like:
· An increased fat percentage around the heart. This usually happens after menopause.
· Weight gain is another problem. The decline of estrogen changes the way fat is distributed around the body. This means that your body starts storing more fat around the waist.
· There’s also a chance of your blood pressure going up. This happens because your blood vessels don’t respond as well as they did to changes previously.
· Another problem is that your body may not be able to control glucose levels as well as it did before menopause. This increases the chances of you becoming diabetic and gaining weight.
Several women worry about their cardiovascular health when they’re going through menopause and want to know if they’re at risk. If you find yourself worrying, consult your healthcare provider.
The Symptoms of a Heart Attack
Even though the symptoms of a heart attack can vary some of the most commonly reported symptoms are:
· Shortness of breath, feeling sick, light-headed and getting cold sweats
· Chest pain that suddenly starts happening and doesn’t go away. You may feel that your chest is heavy, or that it’s squeezing. Some people also confuse it with indigestion or feel there’s a burning sensation inside their chest.
· People also report pain spreading to their left or right arms, their back, jaw or neck
Even though more research is needed to understand why these symptoms happen (like heart palpitations) there are ways you can manage your menopausal symptoms better. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help with heart palpitations, night sweats, and hot flashes.
Protecting Your Heart Health
Getting yourself tested while you’re going through menopause can play an instrumental role in finding risk factors and monitoring changes. It can also help healthcare providers find the right treatment strategy for your case. Here are some ways tests can help:
· Monitoring Hormones
Monitoring hormones, like estrogen, through tests can help doctors identify how your hormones are changing while you’re going through menopause. Even though these tests don’t directly measure your heart health, they can help you make an informed decision with regard to hormone replacement therapy and the impacts it can have on your cardiovascular health.
· Assessing Cardiovascular Risk
Consistent assessments of risk factors such as blood sugar levels, cholesterol and blood pressure can help you identify if you’re at risk for heart disease. You’ll just need to get blood pressure tests and blood tests done.
· Comprehensive Health Assessment
A comprehensive health assessment by a healthcare provider who specializes in women’s health takes in several factors, like:
o Overall health
o Family history
o Lifestyle
Once they’re educated on all of these factors (and more) they can create a personalized plan for you that helps your heart stay healthy during menopause.
· Consistent Follow-up
By being consistent with your appointments, you can track changes in your overall health and other factors that impact your cardiovascular health. This lets you react at the right time. That said, it’s also essential that you’re consulting a healthcare provider who’s an expert in women’s health.
Early management and detection can help significantly during this stage of life.
