Menopause symptoms such as hot flushes and night sweats may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in women, new research suggests.
Sudden fluctuations in body temperature are a common symptom of menopause, with about 75 per cent of women experiencing hot flashes.
But researchers from the University of Pittsburgh suggest there is a link between such “vasomotor symptoms” and heart attacks or stroke.
The heightened risk is estimated to affect more than seven in 10 of women going through menopause.
Experts previously found that women who experience hot flashes and night sweats at an earlier stage in menopause are more likely to die from cardiovascular disease compared to those with later onset symptoms.
But the latest findings, which were presented at a meeting of The North American Menopause Society in Atlanta, means that women who experience “frequent or severe hot flushes” also have increased risk of developing heart issues.
Women in this category have poorer cardiovascular risk factor profiles, including high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, high cholesterol, and hardening of the arteries.
They have also been linked to increased likelihood of heart attacks and stroke as women age.
The study’s lead author Dr Rebecca Thurston, who is the Pittsburgh Foundation Chair in Women’s Health, said: “Hot flushes are regarded as symptoms with implications for quality of life but not necessarily physical health.
“Accumulating research has called this long-held clinical wisdom into question and underscores that frequent or severe hot flushes may signal women who are at increased cardiovascular disease risk at midlife and beyond.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, particularly middle-aged women who are going through the menopause transition.
Dr Stephanie Faubion, director of The North American Menopause Society, said the study “will introduce the latest thinking about how women with a high burden of vasomotor symptoms may particularly benefit from targeted cardiovascular reduction efforts as they age”.
In the UK, women are twice as likely to die of a coronary heart disease – the main cause of a heart attack – as they are of breast cancer.
According to the British Heart Foundation, more than 30,000 women are admitted to hospital in the UK every year due to a heart attack.
Additional reporting by SWNS
