"We found that lower levels of estradiol, one of the main hormonal changes that marks menopause, are associated with low quality cholesterol carriers, which have been found to predict risk for heart disease," said Samar R. El Khoudary, assistant professor at Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in the US.
Cholesterol travels through the bloodstream in small particles called lipoproteins, or cholesterol carriers. Conventional blood tests show the amount of cholesterol carried by these lipoproteins, rather than the characteristics of the lipoproteins themselves.
There are two major types of lipoproteins: high-density lipoprotein (HDL), which helps keep cholesterol from building up in the arteries, and low density lipoprotein (LDL), the main source of cholesterol build up and blockage in the arteries.
For the new study that involved 120 women, researchers used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure the size, distribution and concentration of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol in the blood.
The researchers found that as estrogen levels fall, women have higher concentrations of low-quality, smaller, denser LDL and HDL particles, which are associated with greater risk of heart disease.
"Our results suggest that there may be value in using advanced testing methods to evaluate changes in cholesterol carriers' quality in women early in menopause so that doctors can recommend appropriate diet and lifestyle changes," El Khoudary noted.
Nurse Barb Dehn, who is a practicing Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner, a nationally recognized health expert, and author of the new book, The Hot Guide to a Cool Sexy Menopause, said that these recent findings reported by Dr. El Khoudary add even more evidence to the growing body of scientific literature that confirms what many clinicians have been seeing in our practices – heart disease is very different in women.
"These findings may help shed more light on why women seems to have more microvascular coronary artery disease as well as why many women experience heart attack symptoms differently," she said.
"Many people are surprised to learn that while some women have crushing chest pain with a heart attack, many others do not and instead may experience shortness of breath, profound fatigue and sweating. We know that women and men respond to heart medication differently, for example, women don’t seem to have the same cardio protective effect from the daily use of baby aspirin as men do."
Dehn added that when you ask women what health condition they’re most afraid of, overwhelmingly the majority still believe that they are more likely to have breast cancer than heart disease, and yet, half of women, most at midlife and beyond, are likely to have heart disease, while one in eight women will develop breast cancer.
"Heart disease in women is influenced by many factors including our hormones. We’ve seen from research that women who go through menopause later seem to have less atherosclerotic build up in their arteries, which is why Dr. El Khoudary’s findings are so interesting," she said.
To read more from Nurse Barb about women and heart disease, click here: http://www.nursebarb.com/2013/01/18/the-deadly-signs-of-heart-disease-women-often-ignore/
For more life-changing facts and how to feel more empowered going through menopause, pick up Nurse Barb's book, The Hot Guide to a Cool Menopause at www.basichealthpub.com or www.amazon.com
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