Early Menopause Increases Risk of Heart Failure

Hitting menopause before 45 years of age could up the risk of heart failure, especially for smokers, new study suggests.

The study was conducted by researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Previously, research has shown that early menopause is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. In the current study, researchers found that hitting menopause early could lead to heart failure.

Heart failure is when the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's requirements. In this condition, the left ventricle - the heart's main pumping chamber, loses its efficiency.

The study was based on data from 22,000 enrolled in the Swedish National Patient Register and Sweden's Cause of Death Register, and 90,000 women in the Swedish Mammography Cohort.

Researchers found that women, who underwent menopause between 40 and 45 years of age, had a heart failure rate of 40 percent than women who hit menopause between 50 and 54 years of age. Additionally, heart failure rate dropped two percent for every one-year increase in age of menopause.

Smokers, on an average, undergo menopause a year earlier than non-smokers. Researchers found that a history of smoking was linked to heart failure risk, even in women who quit smoking.  

It is always a good idea to stop smoking. Study has shown that women who smoke have more hot flashes as they transition to menopausal stage, than other women. In white women, with certain genetic variation, smoking can lead to symptoms of menopause nine years earlier than average.

"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, NAMS Executive Director, MD, as per a news release."This thought-provoking study should encourage more research that could unveil how early menopause and heart failure are linked, and whether the factors that cause heart failure also cause ovarian failure?"

Related studies have shown that those who go through menopause early are nearly twice as likely to develop osteoporosis later in life.

The study is published in the journal Menopause.