Hot flashes early in menopause linked to reduced cardiovascular risk
There could be an upside to the hot flashes and cold sweats women experience at the beginning of menopause, American researchers suggest in a new study released Thursday.
After studying more than 60,000 women for a decade to determine the relationship between heart health and symptoms of menopause, scientists from Northwestern University and Harvard Medical School found that those who experienced hot flashes at the onset of menopause may be at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and premature death.
The findings, published in the journal Menopause, counter concerns that menopausal symptoms, which occur because of instability in the skin’s blood vessels, may put women at risk for other types of circulation problems, said lead researcher Dr. Emily Szmuilowicz of Northwestern Medicine.
“While they are certainly bothersome, hot flashes may not be all bad. Our research found that despite previous reports suggesting that menopause symptoms were associated with increased levels of risk markers for heart disease, such as blood pressure and cholesterol, the actual outcomes tell a different story,” Szmuilowicz said.
She said that a decade of medical records were examined and the women were divided into four categories. About 25,000 women experienced symptoms at the beginning of menopause, 1,400 faced them years after menopause, 15,000 had symptoms at both times and 18,800 didn’t encounter any problems at all.
The subjects were between 50 and 79 years old and they were about 14.4 years into menopause on average, Szmuilowicz said.
Results showed that women who had hot flashes at the onset of menopause had a 17 per cent lower risk of suffering a stroke, an 11 per cent reduction in their risk of overall cardiovascular problems and an eight per cent lower risk of premature death compared to peers who didn’t have menopause symptoms or had symptoms later on.
“It is reassuring that these symptoms, which are experienced by so many women, do not seem to correlate with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Hot flashes will never be enjoyable, but perhaps these findings will make them more tolerable,” Szmuilowicz said, noting that more research needs to be done to explain why this relationship exists.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Canadian women, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation. The organization’s website says that the most common symptom of heart disease in women is chest pain, although nausea and sweating are also common symptoms.
Dr. Wendy Wolfman, director of Mt. Sinai’s Menopause Unit in Toronto, said that Canadian women could encounter menopausal symptoms for up to six years and that 70 per cent of women encounter them at the beginning of menopause, which occurs roughly at age 51.
She cautioned that some of the findings were based on women’s memories of symptoms they may have experienced almost 15 years ago.
St. Michael’s Hospital Dr. Christine Derzko, who also teaches at the University of Toronto, said the study should help to relieve Canadian women’s concerns with hot flashes.
“This is another bit of information that should reassure young, early post-menopausal women, certainly those between 50 and 60. They should have no concern about having an increased risk of heart disease and stroke if they have these symptoms,” she said.
She pointed out that the study found that hot flashes at the beginning of menopause can open arteries and increase circulation. Older women dealing with hot flashes could interpret these symptoms as a signal to see a doctor, because their arteries are stiffer and could cause health problems, she said.
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