Menopause Brings New Heart Risks (Heart Health)
Heart disease kills more American women — one in three — than any other condition. It also can lead to disability and decrease your quality of life. Yet, many women don’t take the threat of heart disease seriously.
Menopause, however, is a time when you need to get very serious about heart disease because your risk for it starts to rise. It’s more important than ever to talk with your health care provider about how to lower your risk of heart disease — or, if you already have it, to keep it under control. Ask about your “heart disease profile,” a checklist of the heart disease risk factors you already have or are at an increased risk of developing.
Risk factors are behaviors (smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, etc.) or conditions (family history of heart disease, being age 55 or older) that increase your chance of developing a disease. The more risk factors you have, the greater your chance of developing the disease. For heart disease, having multiple risk factors doesn’t just add risks — it multiplies them. It’s vital to prevent them or, if you already have any, to keep them under control.
B-man 