Poison Heart

Posted by Liz on Oct 3, 2008 in heart disease | 0 comments

Think that menopause and declining estrogen is poisoning your heart?

Italian Researchers say “nay” to this long-standing myth, and report that aging, not menopause, is the cause of increased risk of heart disease in women after menopause.

In a new study published in the Journal of Hypertension, researchers evaluated a number of heart disease risk factors in 9,364 adults who were followed for almost 19 years. At the start of the study, these factors, which included blood pressure, body mass index, cholesterol, blood sugar, blood fats and organ damage were found to be simillar between menopausal women and men, but different between post- and pre-menopausal women.  However, when they made adjustments for age, this difference disappeared.

In other words, the difference in heart disease risk between pre- and postmenopausal women with similar risk factor profiles only existed when age, and not estrogen status, was accounted for.

Additionally, over the long-term, postmenopausal women had greater rates of high blood pressure and illness and death from heart disease compared to their pre-menopausal peers.

This may explain why estrogen has not been shown to prevent heart disease.

Now we just need to find ways to prevent heart disease in older women. Here’s a good start!

Of course, regular exercise and heart-healthy diet wouldn’t hurt either!