Does menopause increase your risk of heart attack?

As a person ages, the risk of heart disease increases, but in the case of women, menopause makes them more likely to suffer from it. But the question that arises is why is this happening?

What is menopause?

Menopause is the time when women stop menstruating for at least 1 year. It causes many physical changes and affects women’s health, it usually appears around the age of 50, although cases in the previous decade are not uncommon. It is because the hormones estrogen and progesterone decrease in the body and affect the entire body. Well, it’s not really that estrogens decrease, it’s that the type of estrogens we produce changes, we go from the predominance of estriol and estradiol (the latter more frequent in pregnancy) to estrone.

In reality, menopause is not a disease in itself , but it leads to many health problems, including cardiovascular diseases. Not in vain are cardiovascular diseases one of the main causes of death in the world, and in women the risk is equal to that of men , until then more prone, after the onset of menopause.

Basically, what happens is that during the fertile stage of the woman, the predominant estrogens are cardioprotective. In other words, the global drop in estrogen levels and the change in type means that we no longer enjoy the protection that we once had. As a consequence, cholesterol levels increase and, with it, the threat of heart and circulatory diseases (such as other arterial diseases, stroke, etc.). Palpitations, in which the heart beats faster than normal, can also be caused by menopause. Therefore, menopause and heart disease have a direct link. 

How can a menopausal woman reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases?

A healthy lifestyle never fails to protect you from different diseases. It is perhaps the most repeated advice in history, but also the most perennial. Collaborate with your body by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and thus avoid a large number of diseases and, particularly, those of cardiovascular origin.

Reaching the ideal weight according to your age and height can prevent many diseases. The problem is that, due to genetic makeup, many people can’t reach it, or don’t even come close, but don’t panic, simply lowering your weight already lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease. Exercising regularly (at least 150 minutes a week is ideal) can help you reach your goal, plus it will keep your heart healthy and improve your health after menopause.

Eating healthy also helps maintain a healthy weight, but it also reduces the risk of health problems and helps improve existing pathologies. Menopausal women should follow a diet low in saturated and trans fats and high in fiber.

It is also important to abandon unhealthy habits , such as tobacco, alcohol or a sedentary lifestyle. Women smokers have twice the risk of heart disease than non-smokers, but even secondhand smoke can make a person more prone to cardiovascular disease.

If you suffer from any disease that increases cardiovascular risk , such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes mellitus, it is important to keep good control of your pathology.

Can hormone replacement therapy influence the risk of heart disease?

There are large, well-designed studies linking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and heart-related problems. It also depends on age. Studies show that women who start HRT less than 10 years after the onset of menopause, or women using HRT between the ages of 50 and 59, are less likely to or have no increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In contrast, women who entered menopause over the age of 60, or who start HRT treatment 10 years after the onset of menopause, are slightly more vulnerable to cardiovascular problems .

The conclusion is that, indeed, menopause increases the cardiovascular risk of women . However, those who maintain an adequate body weight, take care of their diet and stop unhealthy habits, such as alcohol consumption or smoking, are less likely to suffer from heart or blood vessel diseases, among others. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has also been shown to be effective in reducing cardiovascular risk among menopausal women. Therefore, the recommendation is clear, do not compromise your health and follow a healthy diet, exercise and healthy habits to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases during menopause, premenopause or postmenopause.

References:

Boardman, H. M., Hartley, L., Eisinga, A., Main, C., Roqué i Figuls, M., Bonfill Cosp, X., Gabriel Sanchez, R., & Knight, B. (2015). Hormone therapy for preventing cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (3), CD002229. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002229.pub4

Davis, S. R., Castelo-Branco, C., Chedraui, P., Lumsden, M. A., Nappi, R. E., Shah, D., Villaseca, P., & Writing Group of the International Menopause Society for World Menopause Day 2012 (2012). Understanding weight gain at menopause. Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society, 15(5), 419–429. https://doi.org/10.3109/13697137.2012.707385

Dosi, R., Bhatt, N., Shah, P., & Patell, R. (2014). Cardiovascular disease and menopause. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR, 8(2), 62–64. https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2014/6457.4009

Newson L. (2018). Menopause and cardiovascular disease. Post reproductive health, 24(1), 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053369117749675

Shuster, L. T., Rhodes, D. J., Gostout, B. S., Grossardt, B. R., & Rocca, W. A. (2010). Premature menopause or early menopause: long-term health consequences. Maturitas, 65(2), 161–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2009.08.003

Tardivo, A. P., Nahas-Neto, J., Nahas, E. A., Maesta, N., Rodrigues, M. A., & Orsatti, F. L. (2010). Associations between healthy eating patterns and indicators of metabolic risk in postmenopausal women. Nutrition journal, 9, 64. https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-9-64