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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : May 14, 2014 6:43 PM IST
In a first, researchers have found that women who go through menopause early - at ages 40 to 45 - have a higher rate of heart failure because of the inability of the heart to pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Smoking raises the risk even more, the study noted. The study involved 22,000 postmenopausal women in Sweden.
Women who went through menopause naturally at this early age had a rate of heart failure some 40 percent higher than women who went through menopause at the usual age between 50 and 54, the average age being 51. And for every one-year increase in age at menopause, the rate of heart failure was 2 percent lower, the study revealed. What is more, women who smoked, even if they had quit earlier, had a higher risk of heart failure if they went through menopause only somewhat early - at ages 46 to 49. (Read:11 symptoms of menopause that you should be aware of.)
Smokers are known to go through menopause an average of one year earlier than nonsmokers.'Menopause, early or late, is always a good time to take more steps to reduce heart disease risk through exercise, a healthy diet, weight loss, and quitting smoking,' said Margery Gass, executive director, The North American Menopause Society.The study appeared in the journal Menopause. (Read: Smoking could lead to early menopause in women)
What is menopause?
Menopause is a process during which a woman's reproductive and hormonal cycles slow down, her periods(menstruation) eventually stop, ovaries stop releasing eggs for fertilization and produce less estrogen and progesterone, and the possibility of pregnancy ends. A natural event, which takes place in most women in the 45-55 age group, of menopausal onsets and rates are influenced by a combination of factors, including heredity, smoking, diet and exercise. Menopause is defined as the day after the woman's final episode of menstrual flow finishes. This date is fixed retrospectively, once 12 months have gone by with no menstrual flow at all.
In a recent trend, Indian woman have shown an increase in the early onset of menopause. According to researchers early onset of menopause is associated with an increased risk of heart conditions and stroke. Pre-menopause are the years leading up to the last period, when the levels of reproductive hormones are already becoming lower and more erratic, and the effects of hormone withdrawal may be present. Often, women who undergo hysterectomies have their ovaries removed and that precipitates rapid menopause. According to research smokers show an earlier onset of menopause by two years as compared to non-smokers. (Read:Male menopause myth or reality?)
With inputs from IANS
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