Hormonal Evolution: Heart Health
Don't ignore the ticker!
Hi Beautiful Friends!
Did you know…
The leading cause of death for women in the US is not cancer but heart disease, which is frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated.
And did you know…
Women suffering heart attacks often present with different symptoms than men. Rather than feeling pain in the chest and left arm, women may experience a whole host of symptoms such as: neck, jaw or stomach pain, nausea, sweating, shortness of breath, dizziness, fatigue and other mild discomfort (well, “mild” perhaps compared to menstruation, birth, or other experiences we often have endured as women). These various symptoms make diagnosis more difficult.
Did you also know that….
Heart disease kills four times as many women in their sixties and seventies as breast cancer does. Even for women under forty, heart disease still kills twice as many. (2018, A. Bluming, MD & C. Tavris, PhD, Estrogen Matters, p. 84)
Ok. Now, did you know that…
Heart disease affects many more men than women up until menopause. Estrogen protects against heart disease, but after menopause when estrogen drops precipitously, heart disease quickly climbs.
And did you know that…
Women who suffer severe hot flashes have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. While hormone therapy is the most effective treatment for hot flashes, more investigation is necessary to determine whether reducing hot flashes would also impact the development of cardiovascular disease.
Plus! Did you know that…
The Harvard Nurses’ Health Study as well as other observational studies have indicated that based on the “timing hypothesis,” hormone therapy administered within the critical window (beginning in perimenopause and within 10 years of the final menstrual period) is associated with a reduction in heart disease by up to 44%.*
In Solidarity
*The results for cardiovascular benefits from the Nurses’ Health Study vary between 40-50% depending on the source, which is an example of how scientific data is subject to both interpretation and changes over time. Tara Parker-Pope in her book The Hormone Decision states the benefit at 50 per cent (p. 153), referencing the 10 year follow-up article from the NEJM for which one of the writers was Dr. Joann Manson, one of the principle investigators of both the Nurses’ Health Study and the WHI.