Heart Health Declines Rapidly After Menopause | Longevity Blog: how to use it

The American College of Cardiology warned that female cardiovascular risk increases significantly during the climacteric period, that is, when moving from the reproductive to the non-reproductive phase, which includes menopause. It is during this period that women lose the protection of the estrogen hormone, whose production declines. The researchers responsible for study emphasized the importance of recognizing signs of heart disease early:

“Women, especially those who are postmenopausal, are often not warned about the risks that arise at this stage. They end up not doing the necessary screening,” said Ella Ishaaya, an internal medicine specialist at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, in California. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both sexes.

The coronary calcium score is the test that, through a computerized tomography, detects and quantifies calcifications present in the coronary arteries, the vessels responsible for supplying blood to the heart and which, if obstructed, can lead to acute myocardial infarction. The greater the amount of calcium, the greater the risk.

The researchers analyzed data from 579 postmenopausal women who were taking statins to control cholesterol and had undergone two calcium scores, one year apart. It was detected that calcification had accelerated among them, compared to men – which only reinforces the benefits of menopausal hormone therapy, better known as hormone replacement.

How one subject leads to the other – and both are related to the hormonal changes faced in midlife – study published in the scientific journal “Journal of Affective Disorders”, involving nine thousand women around the world, states that 40% of those in perimenopause (the period that precedes menopause and can last from five to ten years) face an increased risk of developing depression.

The good news is that physical activity is the best guarantee for the quality of life of middle-aged women. Survey carried out with more than ten thousand Australian women showed a consistent relationship between regular exercise and a healthy old age, even when participants only started exercising after the age of 50.

Menopause is part of a woman’s natural cycle