Medical Minute: Menopause linked to increased heart disease risk, studies show

Research suggests menopause contributes to serious health risks, including heart disease, due to changes in body fat distribution.

Fat accumulation begins before menopause

A 2021 study by University of Pittsburgh professor Samar El Khoudary found that women start accumulating visceral fat—fat stored in the abdomen—about two years before their final menstrual period.

"We were able to identify the time point at which women start to accumulate that fat in the abdomen," El Khoudary said.

This type of fat increases the risk of heart and cardiometabolic diseases and can grow by about 8% per year.

Measuring risk and making changes

Doctors say a waist circumference greater than 35 inches, or 88 centimeters, is an indication of visceral fat accumulation.

"There could be an easy way, really, to intervene on this," El Khoudary said.

Experts recommend lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet, weight management, intermittent fasting, stress reduction, exercise, and hormone-replacement therapy to reduce heart disease risk. If estrogen replacement therapy begins within 10 years of menopause, it can lower the risk of death from heart disease.

Link between menopause and heart conditions

A 2023 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that postmenopausal women experiencing stress and insomnia have a higher risk of developing atrial fibrillation, a common heart rhythm disorder.