Would Menopause Raise the Risk of Heart Disease?

Posted on August 28, 2019

There is no doubt about the fact that the onset of menopause can bring about a lot of changes in a woman’s body. These changes, as she ages, can take a bad turn too. One such risk that is escalated with the beginning of menopause is cardiovascular diseases. And this can be monitored in ease with the use of Cardiac rhythm’s portable holter monitoring device.

While menopause is not the reason behind cardiovascular disorders and not every woman going through it has a heart attack, it is simply the risk of encountering one that increases.

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While there could be several reasons for the increased cardiovascular vulnerability of postmenstrual women, central obesity, an abnormal lipid profile, and a decline in estrogen levels play an important role. Some of them are elaborated below.

1. The role of Estrogen

A decline in estrogen levels in women is a known cause of the increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. This is because the inner layer of the artery walls stays flexible with the help of the female reproductive hormones. The more flexible blood vessels are, the better they will expand to facilitate blood flow.

However, due to the decline in estrogen levels, the arteries are not getting their natural flexibility. Plus, the doctors advise against the use of artificial estrogen because that doesn’t help.

2. Changes in Lipid Profile

As a woman hits menopause, the levels of “good” cholesterol (LDL) in her body start to decline or become stagnant, and they are replaced by the overproduction of “bad cholesterol” (HDL). Apart from HDLs, various kinds of fats also increase. Everything results in higher blood pressure, i.e., the ultimate trigger for increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

When you are experiencing higher blood pressure more often, to detect the risk of cardiovascular diseases, you can use a Holter Monitor. It is a battery-operated device that will help your healthcare professional detect the fluctuations in heart rate and rhythm. They can further use it to study your proximity to a major cardiac problem.

3. An Inactive and Unhealthy Lifestyle

Menopause can be pretty harsh on a woman’s mental health as well.
Studies suggest that the BMI (Body Mass Index) and WHR (Waist Hip Ratio) tends to be higher in postmenstrual as compared to premenstrual women. This is probably because the hormonal changes during menopause make women feel bloated, depressed and sleep-deprived. In turn, they start living an inactive lifestyle and eat unhealthily.

Not just the postmenstrual, but premenstrual habits such as alcohol, smoking, and binge eating can add to the risk of cardiovascular diseases as well.

How can Menopausal Women fight Against the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases?

Now that you know how menopause can increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, here is how some tweaks in lifestyle can save you from encountering them.

1. Incorporate a Workout Routine into your Day

Even if you are used to a sedentary lifestyle and haven’t got into any health complications so far, menopause can change stakes for you. Due to the incessant change of hormones and lipid profile imbalance, you need a good workout routine to stay in good health. If not, you might not be far from a stroke.

Nowadays, many doctors recommend the more conventional Remote Cardiac Monitoring rather than ECG for studying heart’s state. This is because they want to study how it is working when the patient assumes their regular activity.

Devices such as a Holter Monitor will give you evidence about how exercising and an active lifestyle can prove wondrous for your heart during menopause. Plus, it is as lightweight a feather (13 grams). So, you won’t even know that you are using them while working out.

2. Quit Unhealthy Habits

Habits such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, or eating too much junk food will affect the cholesterol levels adversely.

As compared to traditional ECG machines, the more advanced ECG monitoring service through the Holter monitor will show you how unhealthy foods and smoking can deteriorate your cardiovascular health. Your healthcare professional can advise you use the Cardiac Rhythm monitoring solution for a period ranging from 24 hours to 7 days, in order to detect the decline in cardiac health due to your habits.

3. Eat Right and Maintain a Healthy Body Weight

When going through menopausal depression, women become more likely to binge upon unhealthy fats that can make them obese. Therefore, it is advised to eat right. Stick to fruits, vegetables, dairy-free or low-fat dairy products, whole grains, fish, nuts, and poultry.

4. Keep a Check on Health Conditions

If you are carrying along with your premenopausal conditions such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and more into the menopausal period, you need to be more careful. In such situations, it is advised to keep a strict check on what you eat, how much you work out, and what treatment you are taking. If not, the situation can worsen with the onset of menopause.

For more informed medical advice regarding your heart’s health, the doctors can use Holter Monitor because it gives them real-time access to all your reports, 24×7, through advanced cloud storage.

In the end, no woman going through menopause is immune to an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, you can save yourself from the consequences by adopting a healthier lifestyle, better eating habits, and opting for regular remote cardiac monitoring.

Cardiac Rhythm’s Heart event monitor is a lightweight & wireless heart monitor which can be worn anywhere & the regular day to day work can be done. It provides efficient monitoring & deeper clinical-grade data insights compared to the other traditional ECG monitoring devices.

Periodic monitoring of the patient’s activity & stress levels correlated with heart events will be useful to track the patient’s overall heart health. Cardiac rhythm’s holter monitor helps you to track the heart by noticing each & every rhythm of the heart.

Tags: heart attack, heart disease, menopause