Menopause news

Menopause Hot Flushes Associated With High Lipids

11 October 2011

Researchers at the recent North American Menopause Society annual meeting in Washington, DC, have reported on possible mechanisms to explain the emerging links between menopausal hot flushes and cardiovascular risk.

They analyzed data from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) on 3,201 women between the ages of 42 and 52, who were assessed annually for hot flushes and night sweats as well as low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), apolipoprotein(apo-a), apo-b, lipoprotein(a), triglycerides, estradiol and follicle-stimulating hormone.

They found that women who experienced more frequent hot flushes were significantly more likely to have higher levels of all of the lipids assessed, except lipoprotein(a). The associations remained after controlling for obesity, ethnicity, smoking, and socioeconomic status.

"I would tell women that if they are having a lot of hot flashes during the menopause transition or if those hot flashes persist for a long time, to be sure they see their primary care provider, get regular checkups, and keep up with their cardiovascular health preventive measures, including getting their lipids checked, doing physical exercise, and following a prudent diet," Dr. Rebecca C. Thurston from the University of Pittsburgh told Reuters Health.

She added that she would not presume that treating hot flashes would help women's cardiovascular health.

"I'm not sure that this is actually a causal relationship. It is more telling us things about women's vasculature. But women who are having a lot of hot flashes need preventive checkups. If they are smoking, they should stop. If they need to lose weight, they should do so. The hot flashes may be another indicator to women that they really need to be careful about prevention," Dr. Thurston concluded.

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