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Patient Handout
After Menopause, A Woman's Risk For Heart Disease Rises Steadily
Women develop heart disease 10 years later than men
It is not true that cardiovascular disease is a man's disease only. On average, men suffer heart attacks 10 years earlier than women do. But as women approach the age of menopause, they may start to lose the protective effect of estrogen. Because women have heart attacks at older ages, they are more likely to die from them within a few weeks than men are.Heart disease and stroke kill more women than does breast cancer
- Most women are more afraid of breast cancer than of heart disease and stroke.
- In reality, 1 in 25 women dies from breast cancer, while almost 1 in 2 dies from heart disease.
What is a risk factor?
- Risk factors are conditions or activities that increase your likelihood of developing heart disease.
- There are a number of risk factors associated with heart disease and stroke.
- Cigarette smoking
- High cholesterol
- Physical inactivity
- Overweight and obesity
- Diabetes mellitus
It is possible to prevent heart disease to some extent by reducing risk factors
- High blood cholesterol, physical inactivity, and being overweight are particular problems for women.
- For ages 35 to 44, the mean total blood cholesterol of women is 195 mg/dL, but between ages 45 and 64 the average rises from 217 mg/dL to 235 mg/dL.
- A higher percentage of women than men have a total blood cholesterol of 200 mg/dL or higher beginning at age 50.
Women lose the protective effect of estrogen at menopause
- As menopause approaches, estrogen production slows.
- Estrogen, as part of hormone replacement therapy, helps in reversing the lipid changes that occur with menopause.
- Estrogen decreases the undesirable LDL cholesterol and increases the beneficial HDL cholesterol.
- Studies suggest that estrogen reduces your risk of developing heart disease by as much as half.
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