While menstrual symptoms get a bad rap (and rightfully so), some argue that they’re no match for the onset of side effects women experience during menopause. From stubborn belly fat to relentless hot flashes to aging skin, the list of menopause symptoms goes on and on. However, not taking care of your body during this life transition can wreak serious havoc on your health, especially when it comes to your heart.
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A new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Menopause indicates that menopausal women are at an increased risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event if they maintain a poor Life’s Essential 8 (LE8) score.
LE8 focuses on both health factors and health behaviors to gauge and help improve heart health. Researchers estimate that only one in five women has “optimal” LE8 scores during the menopause transition.
The components of LE8 include:
- Diet
- Physical activity
- Nicotine exposure
- Sleep health
- Body mass index
- Blood lipids
- Blood glucose
- Blood pressure
“Previously we’ve shown that the menopause transition is a time of accelerating cardiovascular risk,” senior study author Samar R. El Khoudary, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at Pitt’s School of Public Health, said in a press release. “This study underscores that it’s also an opportunity for women to take the reins on their heart health.”
To arrive at their findings, researchers analyzed 2,924 health records of midlife women from the longitudinal Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). They used Life’s Essential 8 to measure participants’ cardiovascular health statuses. Assessments occurred at baseline, around age 46, and through their evolving health trajectories over time.
Specifically, the authors conducted a comparison analysis to assess the incidence of “subclinical cardiovascular disease measures, such as increased carotid-artery thickness, to cardiovascular events, including heart attacks and strokes, to mortality of all causes.”
As expected, higher baseline and total LE8 scores were “associated with more favorable measures of all outcomes.” However, only 21 percent of women reported “ideal” total LE8 scores. Increased cardiovascular risk was linked to low total LE8 scores.
Moreover, of the L8E components, four were considered “the most important factors” in driving future cardiovascular risks. These were blood glucose, blood pressure, sleep quality, and nicotine use.
Interestingly, of the core four, sleep was highlighted as a “potential predictor” for long-term comorbidities caused by cardiovascular disease events and all-cause mortality. However, the authors were quick to note that sleep was “not linked to the shorter-term effects of carotid-artery thickening.”
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Previous studies have linked sleep deprivation (defined as getting less than six hours of sleep per night) to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. This corroborates a 2024 study that found premenopausal and early perimenopausal women who log less than seven sleeping hours and frequently wake up throughout the night are more susceptible to stroke, heart attack, and myocardial infarction.
According to Life’s Essential 8 recommendations, adults should aim for seven to nine hours of sleep every night. Irregular sleep hygiene could put you at an increased risk of depression, anxiety, dementia, heart disease, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol levels.
“With heart disease being the leading cause of death in women, these findings point to the need for lifestyle and medical interventions to improve heart health during and after menopause among midlife women,” concluded El Khoudary.
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