Menopause and Heart Disease: What's the Connection?

You’re not alone if you think that the biggest annoyance about menopause is the hot flashes. While temperature regulation can be an annoying problem, it doesn’t have the long-term health impact that menopause has on your heart. 

Women generally have better heart health than men, but the risk factor gap closes quickly after menopause. There’s a very real correlation between menopause and heart disease. Are you prepared? 

Our menopause specialists at The Well for Health in the Lake Norman area of North Carolina can help you mitigate your risk of heart disease after menopause, though the most proven and effective changes involve a solid commitment to lifestyle improvements. 

Today, we look at the connection between menopause and heart disease as well as the steps you can take to reduce your risks. 

Defining heart disease

Heart disease isn’t a single condition, but instead a collection of things that affect the function or structure of the heart. Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common type of heart disease, resulting from a buildup of plaque in the main arteries of the heart. 

Other types of heart disease include:

• Arrhythmias — heartbeats that are irregular, too fast, or too slow
• Congenital heart disease — structural heart problems present from birth
• Heart failure — not to be confused with heart attack, it’s the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to supply the body

Prevention is the best approach against heart disease, but lifestyle and medical management can help. 

The connection between menopause and heart disease

An identifier of potential heart disease problems is coronary artery calcium (CAC), which measures levels of plaque along the walls of coronary arteries using detailed X-ray imaging. Plaque buildup is a key indicator of atherosclerosis and CAD. 

After menopause, the rate at which CAC accumulates significantly increases. This seems to be in direct response to falling levels of estrogen in the postmenopausal woman’s body. 

Lower estrogen causes changes consistent with metabolic syndrome, a combination that includes three or more of the following: 

• High blood pressure
• Low HDL cholesterol
• Fat storage changes affecting waist circumference
• Elevated blood glucose levels
• High triglycerides

Metabolic syndrome is a significant risk factor in women and men for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and stroke. Adding menopause to the mix further increases a woman’s risk. 

Treating heart disease

One of the key treatments for menopause symptoms, hormone therapy, doesn’t reduce heart disease risk. In fact, there’s a small chance that it can increase this risk. 

When you have an active heart disease condition, any medical treatment to improve or limit the impact is an important approach. Beyond that, the best thing you can do to prevent or treat heart disease is strategic lifestyle choices, including: 

• Adjusting your diet to reduce salt, sugar, and saturated fats, while increasing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains
• Managing related conditions such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high blood glucose
• Increasing physical activity

If there’s a heart disease prevention magic bullet, it’s adding 150 minutes of moderate low-impact aerobic activity per week, 30 minutes a day.

Contact us at The Well for Health as your partner in menopause and heart disease management. Call 704-459-5296 to make an appointment or click the link on this page to request a phone consultation. Start your heart disease counterattack today.