While the average age for women entering menopause is currently 51, it is not uncommon for women to begin in their early forties. And while many may believe it a blessing to experience an early menopause, it can also be a detriment, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
A study out of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, presented today at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego, found that those women who go through menopause prior to age 46 may have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event later in life.
Following 2,500 women aged 45 to 84, researchers found that those who experienced an early menopause fared well until the age of 55, regardless of whether they were given hormone therapy or not. But after that age, almost 6 percent of the women experienced some sort of heart event, compared to 2.6 percent of women who had an average or later onset of menopause.
Dr. Melissa Wellons, who led the study, stated that “study is observational; therefore, we cannot conclude that early menopause somehow causes future cardiovascular disease. However, our findings do support the possible use of age at menopause as a marker of future heart and vascular disease risk."
Heart disease is currently the number one killer of women in America, affecting 1 in 4 women. Factors contributing include obesity, lack of exercise, and improper diet. For more information on what you can do to prevent heart disease, check out the information on Sister to Sister: The Women’s Heart Health Foundation, the nation’s only large-scale provider of free heart health screenings.
