5 Ways Menopause Can Play Havoc With Your Heart
5 Ways Menopause Can Play Havoc With Your Heart
Can Menopause Cause Changes in Blood Pressure ?
Did you know that more than 50% of women over 50 are at risk of having blood pressure problems?
Blood pressure does generally go up during menopause, this could be due to changing levels of hormones as well as a general weight gain that affects most menopausal women.
Changes in hormone levels and weight gain can make your blood pressure more sensitive to salt in your diet, leading to higher blood pressure.
High blood pressure is known as the silent killer because for some there are absolutely no symptoms whatsoever until they have serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes.
High blood pressure should not be disregarded as just a menopausal symptom and early detection and treatment are vital in preventing heart disease.
Source: mayoclinic.org – menopause & high blood pressure
Have your blood pressure checked regularly if you have any of the following symptoms:
Symptoms of high blood pressure include:
- Headaches
- Chest pains and palpitations
- Dizziness
- Hot flushes
- Visual problems
- Nose bleeds
- Blood in urine
Understanding blood pressure readings
Blood pressure readings consist of two numbers.
The top number indicates the pressure in your blood vessels when your heart contracts, known as the systolic number.
The bottom number indicates the pressure in your arteries when your heart relaxes between beats, known as the diastolic number.
Putting these two numbers together shows whether your blood pressure is healthy or unhealthy.
A high systolic number (130 and over) or a high diastolic number (80 and over) can count as high blood pressure.
A normal blood pressure reading is regarded as less than 120 systolic and less than 80 diastolic.
What can you do to help keep your blood pressure under control?
- Mitigate stress and anxiety and find ways to manage your daily stress
- Take herbal supplements such as passion flower.
- Also remember magnesium it great for anxiety, which can negatively affect blood pressure
- Dehydration can also impact your blood pressure
- Maintain a healthy diet and include whole grains, fruits and vegetables
- Exercise regularly
- Don’t smoke and limit alcohol intake
- Monitor your salt intake as too much salt can affect your blood pressure
However, if you are going through menopause and suffer from hot flushes and night sweats, you might actually be losing more salt than is healthy.
Make sure that you are getting enough salt in your diet but don’t go over the safe limit which is about 6grm per day.
Try to use sea salt rather than ordinary table salt, since there are lots of minerals and nutrients in sea salt that can be very beneficial.
Source: mayoclinic.org – menopause & high blood pressure
2. What Causes Heart Palpitations During Menopause?
Heart palpitations are a result of falling estrogen levels, which leads to an overstimulation of the heart.
This is because it affects the “electrical system” of the heart.
The system gets jammed and your heart starts to race a little, resulting in the heart skipping a beat or fluttering.
This can be a really unpleasant experience and can feel as if you’re having a heart attack.
Palpitations in menopause also often happen during hot flushes.
Heart rate can increase by 8 to 16 beats while you are in the middle of a hot flush.
Other causes of palpitations during menopause
Dehydration
If you get night sweats or even hot flashes in the evening, you will be going to bed in a state of dehydration.
This can be a trigger for palpitations.
Sodium and potassium level imbalances
The body maintains a fine balance between the two and if they are out of sync that in itself can affect your heartbeat.
Stress and anxiety
If you are stressed during the day or anxious all the time, the nervous system will be overexcited, producing more adrenaline to be pumped into the heart.
Low blood pressure
This happens when the force at which the heart pumps blood through the arteries, falls.
Low blood sugar
Low levels of blood sugar can cause a rapid heartbeat and heart palpitations.
Overactive thyroid gland
Excess thyroid hormones can trigger abnormal heart rhythms.
When you should not delay seeing your doctor
Palpitations should only last a few seconds and only occasionally.
See your doctor if they are getting worse over time and you suffer from any of the following:
- Chest pains
- Heart is really pounding
- Shortness of breach
- Dizziness or fainting
Sources
medicalnewstoday.com – what’s to know about heart palpitations and menopause
bhf.org.uk – menopause and your heart
The role of estrogen in heart functions
Estrogen is a hormone that plays various roles in the body, one of them being that it aids in the function of the cardiovascular system.
It helps to reduce the fatty plaques that can build up in your arteries.
In a way, estrogen is a protector of the heart.
As you go through menopause, estrogen levels start to fall resulting in a bigger build-up of fatty plaques in the arteries.
Very often the decrease of estrogen can happen very slowly and you might not necessarily be aware of any changes to your heart or to your blood.
Falling estrogen affects the blood vessels themselves and your arteries may become less elastic and slightly more static.
The big coronary arteries, need to expand to take up the pressure that is behind each heartbeat.
If your blood vessels lose their elasticity, it can increase your risk of a heart attack.
Palpitations are also as a result of falling estrogen levels.
This is because it affects the “electrical system” of the heart, resulting in the heart skipping a beat or fluttering when two beats are very close together.
This can be a really unpleasant experience and can feel as if you’re having a heart attack.
Sources
clevelandclinic.org – estrogen and the heart
endocrineweb.com – how your hormones affect your heart
Other factors that can affect heart health
- Cholesterol levels
A lot of women find that their cholesterol starts to rise quite quickly as they go through menopause - Weight gain
Eating the wrong foods can raise cholesterol levels and putting on too much weight can affect your blood pressure. - Resting heart rate
The lower the better, with a resting heart rate of between 60 and 100 beats per minute being regarded as normal. - Genetics
If family members are predisposed to heart attacks, high blood pressure and cholesterol then you may be more vulnerable as you start going through menopause.
- Aerobic fitness
Cardio exercise gets the heart pumping and builds endurance and includes any exercise that increases breathing and heart rate. - Blood pressure
High blood pressure when left uncontrolled can be a major risk for strokes and heart attacks - Smoking
Quit smokinlifestylg to reduce the risk of heart attacks. - Diabetes
Falling estrogen can make you more vulnerable to diabetes which in turn can lead to heart problems.
Sources
heart.org – things that can affect the heart
Lifestyle tips for keeping your heart healthy during menopause
Balancing and gently raising estrogen
Take a Ladies Support supplement which can help to gently balance estrogen levels.
Avoid the following foods
High salt, sugar, caffeine, and saturated fatty foods.
Omega3 oils
Keep your heart healthy and protect it against stroke.
If you are vegetarian or vegan, you can look at taking flaxseed oil.
A varied and healthy diet
Have a varied diet with more vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish, and low-fat dairy.
Switch out your salt
Go for sea salt or Himalayan salt as this offers a more comprehensive salt that is less processed.
Limit intake to 1tsp per day.
Exercise
Walking, swimming, riding a bike, or any other form of aerobic exercise for 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week.
Manage stress
Stress plays a huge factor in heart health.
A lot of menopausal women end up with stress palpitations which can be as frightening as hormonal heart palpitations.
Try a natural stress remedy.
Stop smoking and limit alcohol
Not enough can be said about smoking and drinking and the effect they have on your heart health.
Get your blood pressure and your cholesterol checked regularly
Know your numbers, high blood pressure is regarded as a reading of 130 or higher for the top number, or 80 or higher for the bottom number.
Know the difference between LDL (“bad”) and HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
Supplement with Hawthorne
It can help with high and low blood pressure, but it can take 3 to 6 months to show benefits.
Include enough magnesium, calcium & potassium in your diet
Magnesium helps your heart keep a healthy rhythm and is involved in carrying other electrolytes, such as calcium and potassium into the cells.
Potassium helps trigger your heart to squeeze blood through your body.
Calcium plays an important role in the pumping and electrical function of the heart.
You can also suffer from low blood pressure during menopause and this can be just as damaging as high blood pressure.
Symptoms of low blood pressure
- Dizziness and light-headedness
- Sense of losing your balance and fainting
- Blurred vision
- Headaches and low moods
- Dehydration and unusual thirst
- Difficulty falling asleep
- Cold clammy skin
- Confusion and a brain fog
- Low endurance and feeling weak
- Nausea
Sources:
avogel.co.uk – low blood pressure
nhs.uk – hypertension
3. Nose bleeds & menopause
Why do I all of a sudden have nose bleeds?
Falling estrogen affects the mucous membranes of the nose, drying it out, resulting in your nasal membranes thinning out, resulting in more brittle nasal passages.
Helpful tips to prevent nose bleeds
- Use Sea Buckthorn oil for dryness
- Soothe your dry nose with a saline nose spray
- Check your medication as some medications might cause nose bleeds
- Use a humidifier to help keep mucous membranes moist
- Get your blood pressure checked
- If you are having frequent nose bleeds it can be a sign that you have high blood pressure
Source:
A.Vogel – menopause symptoms that may surprise
Healthline – how to prevent a nosebleed
4.Varicose Veins & Menopause
Can Menopause cause varicose veins?
Varicose veins occur when your veins become enlarged, dilated, and overfilled with blood.
They can be seen through the skin and often appear swollen and raised, having a bluish-purple or red color and can often be painful.
The condition is very common, especially in women, and increases with age.
Hormonal changes in estrogen and progesterone can be responsible for developing varicose veins.
Progesterone is vital for overall vein health and its decrease can cause the weakening of the vein valves affecting circulation and blood pressure.
This in turn leads to them becoming enlarged and overfilling with blood, causing varicose veins and spider veins.
Also, lower levels of estrogen can thin your skin making the veins more prominent.
5. Spider veins
These are easily visible through the skin.
They are finer and smaller in size and can be red, purple, or blue in color, and are most common on the legs and face.
Why do they occur?
In order to keep blood flowing in the right direction, your veins have one-way valves.
These function to prevent the blood from flowing backward and keep it going in the right direction, back up to your heart and away from your legs.
They are not indestructible and their life span is unfortunately not indefinite.
Symptoms of spider veins
- Aching or cramping in the legs
- Tiredness
- Restlessness
- Burning, throbbing, or tingling
- Heaviness in the legs
- Less common is swelling, ulcers and a darkening of the skin, especially around the ankle region.
- A painful blood clot with inflammation of the vein, known as thrombophlebitis, although this is not very common
Causes of varicose veins
Menopause
Estrogen and progesterone play an important role in vascular health and a drop in these hormones during menopause can result in the weakening of vein valves, making it harder for them to open and close, creating thickened and less flexible vein walls.
Pregnancy
This can cause more internal pressure and as a result, a lot more fluid builds up.
Those veins and valves are under a lot more stress.
That is one reason why varicose veins can become more prominent during and around pregnancy.
Additionally, hormonal factors either from pregnancy or birth control pills can also influence the development of these little nuisance varicose veins and spider veins.
The valves no longer function properly, causing the blood to flow back and build up and dilate the blood vessels.
Obesity
Excess body fat is a contributing factor in developing varicose veins. Obesity puts additional pressure on the leg veins and their valves, making it harder to pump blood back up to the heart.
Genetics
For many women, there is an underlying genetic component that can bring on varicose veins.
Trauma or injury in the legs
Can impair the valves and lend itself to the development of spider veins and varicose veins.
Professions or occupations that require standing
These include nurses, hairstylists, teachers, and factory workers.
Standing on your feet all day and not necessarily moving around can contribute to varicose veins.
A sedentary profession
If you are sitting all day it can result in the blood not circulating well enough in your lower extremities.
Treatment options for Varicose veins
There are currently a wide variety of minimally invasive treatment options for varicose veins available.
Talk to your doctor about your possible treatment options and the risks involved.
Compression stockings squeeze your leg tissue and get the blood flowing back up to your heart.
They also help to decrease swelling.
However, first, check with your doctor as there are few medical conditions in which wearing compression stockings can be contraindicated.
Surgery involves vein litigation and stripping, which requires anesthesia.
The varicose vein is cut and removed through incisions made in the skin.
Sclerotherapy uses a liquid or foam chemical that is injected into the vein, thereby causing it to scar and forcing the blood to change routes.
Micro sclerotherapy is similar to sclerotherapy but more targeted for smaller veins.
Laser surgery uses high-intensity light to zap the vein, thereby closing it off.
There is no need for cuts or needles and it is mostly used for smaller veins.
Endovenous ablation therapy uses laser or radio waves to block off a vein.
A thin tube that has a laser wave device, is inserted through a cut in the skin, creating intense local heat to block off the vein.
Endoscopic vein surgery uses a small camera on a tiny tube, which is threaded into the vein through a small incision in the skin.
A surgical device on the end of the tube closes off the vein.
Other prevention measures
- Avoid extended periods of standing
- If necessary, lose excess weight and maintain a healthy weight
- Exercise regularly to improve your circulation
- It also helps to elevate your legs whenever you’re resting or sleeping
Sources
healthline.com – varicose veins
webmd.com – cosmetic procedure spider veins
How Does Menopause Affect Your Lungs & Your Breathing?
As per a research study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, it is believed that menopause is more likely to cause restrictive, rather than obstructive breathing problems.
Restrictive breathing makes it difficult to fully expand the lungs upon inhaling, whereas obstructive breathing makes it difficult to exhale air from the lungs.
Source: ATS Journal – Menopause & lung function decline
Your lungs are made up of mucus membranes.
Mucous membranes also line your vagina, mouth, nose, eyes and digestive tract.
During menopause, falling estrogen can affect the mucus production in these areas and dry them out.
The lungs if you can imagine, is like a big sponge that are full of little areas that expand and contract.
When you breathe, you need the muscle tissue to be able to expand and contract easily.
It also needs to be very mucous in order to help the transportation of oxygen from the lung surface into the bloodstream.
If these areas start to dry up then the capacity of the lungs to expand decreases.
Therefore, drying up of the mucous membranes of the lungs can actually affect the way that you breathe.
It will restrict your breathing, lead to breathlessness in your day-to-day activities.
Women in menopause, may find that they are diagnosed with asthma although it may be more to do with menopause.
Obviously, this is something you need to see your doctor about.
Breathing & menopause
Going through menopause causes all sorts of stress.
When you are stressed, it affects your breathing and you tend to do more shallow breathing.
The problem with shallow breathing is that it can affect the body in different ways.
If you are doing a lot of shallow breathing, the shoulder muscles, and the neck muscles can start to get over-stressed resulting in neck pain and shoulder pain.
The nerves in this area get over-stimulated and irritated, causing headaches, light-headedness and dizziness.
One result of shallow breathing, especially if done continuously, is that you end up expelling too much carbon dioxide, leading to your blood becoming too alkaline.
High alkalinity in the bloodstream can cause anxiety and alkalinity can increase your nerves’ sensitivity, especially the peripheral nerves.
You might find that you are getting nerve pain in your fingers and your toes or you might be getting a bit of tingling down the arms.
Shallow breathing and alkalinity can affect blood flow to the muscles, causing muscle fatigue, muscle aches, muscle pain, muscle stiffness.
Poor breathing also affects your diaphragm
The diaphragm is a big muscle that sits under the lungs, which moves up and down as you breathe.
If you breathe properly, the movement of the diaphragm actually massages your digestive system, helping with digestion and elimination.
If you are only doing very shallow breathing, then you are not going to get this action on the digestive system.
This can lead to sluggishness, bloating, wind, and constipation.
What can you do to help your breathing?
Do some simple breathing exercises.
If you are having specific menopause symptoms at certain times of the day or in certain situations, take note of your breathing pattern.
Doing breathing exercises daily can help if you are getting anxiety or panic attacks.
It can help you calm down, and also help if you are having problems drifting off to sleep.
Menopause side effect: shortness of breath
According to a WebMD article, a new study suggests that a woman’s lung function seems to deteriorate during menopause.
Hormonal changes related to menopause may play a role in lung function decline since they affect systemic inflammation and cause the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis.
The research suggests that osteoporosis can compress the height of the chest vertebrae, restricting air intake.
Source: WebMD
