When women enter menopause, their risk for heart disease increases by 40%. The transition into menopause also includes many difficult symptoms, from brain fog and fatigue to increased anxiety and body changes. Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) is a powerful tool for relief from menopause, and it has been shown to foster heart health. MHT has been long misunderstood, and past studies have discredited it as an approach to prevent heart disease in women up until recently. This week on Fox17, Dr. Bitner highlights the flaws in prior studies and shares the benefits of MHT for menopause symptoms and healthy aging.
Fact #1
Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) replenishes the body with estrogen and sometimes progesterone. During the transition into menopause, a woman’s body naturally decreases in estrogen levels, causing the symptoms we associate with menopause, like hot flashes, brain fog, fatigue, mood swings and body changes. Hormone therapy helps relieve these symptoms by improving brain cell growth, central nervous system function, sexual function, mood, and bone strength. MHT also offers more than just menopause symptom relief. It has now been shown to lower women’s risk of heart disease.
Fact #2
The 2003 WHI Study questioned if MHT could prevent heart disease. The study had sample problems that led to inaccurate findings on MHT’s role in protecting women’s heart health. The study only included women who had already been in menopause for an average of 10 years and were, on average, 63 years old. This poses a significant issue because many women who are 10 years into menopause have already developed heart disease. Inaccurate population sampling skewed the data, causing MHT to appear ineffective in preventing heart disease.
The study also solely used Premarin, an oral synthetic estrogen. This form of estrogen was found to increase women’s risk for a heart attack or stroke because the oral estrogen affected the liver and made the blood stickier. Women with obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes were at an even greater disadvantage for heart disease when they took Premarin. Rather than the study revealing the problems with just one form of estrogen, it produced fear around all forms of estrogen for all women. These mistakes resulted in women not getting the treatment they deserved. MHT can be very safe if it is bioidentical, FDA-approved, and used by women less than 10 years into menopause and without existing heart disease.
Fact #3
MHT is effective in preventing heart disease. Estrogen helps women’s heart health by:
- Reducing insulin resistance and risk of diabetes
- Improving symptoms of menopause, which increase the likelihood they will be more active
- Reducing plaque development in the artery wall (reducing oxidation)
- Reducing weight gain in belly fat
- Slowing the progression of heart disease
- Reducing initial development of plaque if started in the first 6 years of menopause
Patient story:
Jane, 53, had been suffering from night sweats, fatigue, and weight gain. She was irritable and falling behind at work. Her primary care doctor did not suggest any treatment options and said she just needed to let menopause run its course. Jane felt dismissed and frustrated. She decided to take her health into her own hands and sign up for true.
Jane shared her symptoms of menopause and that her mother had heart disease in her first true. appointment. Her new provider checked her blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and inflammation markers and assured Jane that her only real risk of a heart attack was due to menopause. The true. provider started Jane on MHT, because it was an optimal time to start estrogen to lower her risk factors for heart disease and relieve her menopause symptoms. Along with beginning MHT, Jane’s provider recommended a coronary calcium score, or CAC to better understand her current risk for heart disease. Jane was relieved she had options and had advocated for herself to get the care she deserved.
Takeaway Tip:
MHT is a valuable solution for managing menopause symptoms and reducing your risk of heart disease. The first step is understanding your phase of ovarian function and risk for heart disease. Do not accept a doctor suggesting menopause should simply “run its course.” Instead, advocate for yourself and find a doctor that will give you the treatment you deserve. There are effective options available to relieve discomfort now and support healthy aging.
