Cholesterol could be behind the increased risk of postmenopausal women for heart disease During menopause, “bad” LDL cholesterol increases At the same time, “good” HDL cholesterol decreases TUESDAY, Aug. 27, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- During menopause, a woman’s blood cholesterol changes in a way that could harm her heart health, a new study warns. An increase in “bad” LDL cholesterol and a decrease in “good” HDL cholesterol occurs during menopause, according to research being presented Sept.
2 at the European Society of Cardiology’s annual meeting in London. “Taken together, these changes suggest that menopause is associated with a transition to a higher-risk lipoprotein [cholesterol] profile that could be more likely to cause cardiovascular disease, such as ,” said researcher , a resident with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Heart disease is the biggest killer of women, causing 40% of all deaths in females, researchers noted.
Women tend to develop heart disease about 10 years later than men, with their risk rising dramatically after menopause. But until now, it’s been unclear why a woman’s risk of heart disease accelerates following menopause. For this study, researchers analyzed blood cholesterol levels in 1,246 women and 1,346 men participating in a long-term heart health study.
Of the women, 35% were premenopausal, 24% were menopausal and 41% were postmenopausal. Over an average follow-up time of seven years, all t.