ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — It’s a natural part of life for middle-aged women, but studies link menopause to some serious health complications.
From hot flashes to poor sleep, menopause has a reputation for wreaking havoc on a woman’s body. But this time period — typically around age 45-55 when a woman’s menstrual cycle halts — is also linked to an increased risk of heart disease. According to a 2021 study by University of Pittsburgh Professor of Epidemiology and Vice Chair for Education Samar El Khoudary’s team, women’s bodies transform during this time period to have more fat stored in the abdomen, also known as visceral fat. Such fat has been linked to increased risk for heart and cardiometabolic disease.
“We were able to identify the time point at which women start to accumulate that fat in the abdomen. In particular, women start to accumulate two years before their final menstrual period,” said Prof. El Khoudary.
That fat can increase by about 8% a year, but…
“There could be an easy way, really, to intervene on this,” Prof. El Khoudary told Ivanhoe.
It all starts with knowing when your waist size becomes a problem.
“If you have a waist circumference that is greater than 88 centimeters or 35 inches. It’s an indication of visceral fat in the abdomen,” explained Prof. El Khoudary.
Which means, according to doctors in an article from Medical News Today, it’s a time for lifestyle changes. Eating healthy, managing your weight, intermittent fasting, managing stress, exercising, as well as hormone-replacement therapy can all reduce your risk for heart disease. And, if estrogen replacement is initiated within 10 years of menopause, it can minimize your risk of death from heart disease.
Another study from 2023 in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows that atrial fibrillation is linked to stress and insomnia in women following menopause.
Contributors to this news report include: Shernay Williams, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor.
Sources:
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/JAHA.123.030030
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