The hormonal changes that occur with menopause affect most of the systems in the body but there are two in particular which are of major importance – the cardiovascular and the skeletal systems.

          How does menopause affect my heart?

It is well know that as men become older, their risk for heart disease increases. Until recently, it has been largely ignored that women are also susceptible to heart disease and that this risk dramatically increases following menopause. The main reason for this is that with menopause, the ovaries stop producing estrogen. Estrogen has a protective effect on the heart and blood vessels and by losing this protection, the risk on heart disease begins to approach that of men.

Through appropriate exercise and diet, and possibly by hormonal intervention, this increased risk can be minimized. Your doctor can help by providing you with more information. Your doctor can give you information on the ways you can limit osteoporosis.

 

How does estrogen affect my bones?

Menopausal women are at an increased risk for osteoporosis. That is a term used for condition that causes a decrease in bone mass and which make the bones more fragile and liable to fracture. Bone is continually produced and also continually reabsorbed. It is the imbalance between this construction and the breakdown of bone mass that leads to osteoporosis.

Osteoporosis is partly due to the loss of the normal production of estrogen from the ovaries. Since osteoporosis can lead to bone fractures, it is a very important cause of disability in the elderly. Much can be done to prevent osteoporosis.

 

What is hormone replacement therapy (HRT)?

HRT is simply the process of replacing the hormones which a woman stops producing at menopause and the most important of these hormones is estrogen. A lack of estrogen can lead to certain medical conditions as described above. HRT comes in many forms and can be prescribed by your doctor who can also inform you of the many advantages and potential disadvantages of this type of therapy. It is known to be very effective in controlling many of the symptoms of menopause.

With respect to osteoporosis, HRT with estrogen decreases bone loss and decreases the incidence of osteoporotic fractures in postmenopausal women. In menopause, HRT works to prevent osteoporosis rather than treating osteoporosis that has already developed.