Does Menopause Increase the Risk of Heart Diseases?
Heart diseases occur due to many factors. Among these factors in female biology is the menopause period.
Menopause is a factor that puts women at an increased risk of developing heart disease, which causes the death of many of their patients. Contrary to what is known all over the world, the leading causes of death are not cancer and obesity, but heart diseases. Heart diseases cause about 18 million deaths per year.
What are Heart Diseases in General?
Heart disease covers the functional disorder that occurs in the structure of the heart in general. In this context, cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery, heart rhythm disorder and congenital heart defects are included.
What are the Factors that Increase the Risk of Coming to Heart Diseases?
sedentary lifestyle,
Smoking and alcohol consumption
high cholesterol,
Diseases related to nutritional disorders,
Having high bad cholesterol known as LDL and low good cholesterol known as HDL,
Uncontrolled blood pressure and diabetes,
In addition to all factors, the menopause period in women also increases the risk of developing heart diseases. While the incidence in men in the premenopausal period is 8 times that of women before the age of 40, it is four times more common in women aged 40-60 years with the menopause period.
What is Menopause, a Part of Women's Life?
Menopause is the period when ovulation stops and estrogen production decreases and the menstrual cycle is permanently interrupted. With the menopause period, the estrogen hormone benefit on female biology is most clearly observed.
What Causes Menopause to Increase the Risk of Heart Diseases?
Estrogen hormone, which is naturally released in women, reduces the risk of heart attack against coronary artery disease and creates a protective effect against the heart. It positively affects the cholesterol level in the body and ensures that HDL and LDL values are at normal levels. Thus, it reduces the risk of formation of fatty plaques on the arterial walls of the arteries. Estrogen hormone reduces the risk of stroke and narrowing of the coronary arteries by increasing the release of nitric acid, a substance with vasodilating and antioxidant properties.
With the end of the release of estrogen hormone during menopause, the risk of narrowing of the coronary arteries increases, and it becomes open to pave the way for plaque formation on the artery walls. This increases the risk of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, or a heart condition. In addition to all these, in the menopause period, an increase of 5-10 kilograms is observed in the weight of women with the change in the hormonal order from top to bottom. This increase in weight negatively affects blood pressure, sugar and cholesterol. With menopause;
increase in lipoprotein,
Increase in blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance,
The left ventricular functions of the heart decrease, the muscle mass of the heart increases and the stroke volume decreases,
Left ventricle size increases
Changes occur in the heart, such as the increase in the amount of fibrinogen, which allows blood to clot, increasing the risk of developing heart diseases in women.
What Should Women Do for Their Hearts?
It is not right to lose weight quickly during menopause. Weight loss should be done in a regular and planned way under the control of a doctor or dietitian.
Cardiological routine checks should be done.
Personal risk factors (diseases that are genetically predisposed or diseases with symptoms, etc.) should be recognized and treated.
Harmful habits should be avoided.
Regular exercise should be done and physical activity should be increased during the day.
Attention should be paid to nutrition, the rate of saturated fat is low; plenty of fiber, whole grains, legumes (such as beans, lentils), vegetables, fruits and fish species should be consumed.
The most important thing to do is to consult a doctor as soon as the symptoms of heart disease appear. It is one of the biggest mistakes made to pass it off by thinking that it is normal to get sick due to the change in the hormonal system during the menopause period.
