Women going through menopause before reaching 40 usually tend to experience heart problems, in keeping with a recent study.

Published within the European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), the brand new study found that the younger the age at menopause, the upper the danger for new-onset heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

The study was done on greater than 1.4 million women aged 30 years and older who accomplished the Korean National Health Insurance System (NHIS) health check-up back in 2009.

“Women with premature menopause ought to be aware that they could be more prone to develop heart failure or atrial fibrillation than their peers. This will be good motivation to enhance lifestyle habits known to be linked with heart disease, corresponding to quitting smoking and exercising,” said study creator Dr. Ga Eun Nam of Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.

Normally, heart problems occurs as much as 10 years later in women in comparison with men. Based on studies, premenopausal women are thought to learn from the protective effect of estrogen on the cardiovascular system. Nonetheless, the cessation of menses and subsequent decline of estrogen levels may make women more vulnerable to heart problems.

Premature menopause affects around 1% of girls under 40. Previous studies found a link between premature (before age 40) and early (before age 45) menopause and heart problems. Nonetheless, the evidence surrounding heart failure and atrial fibrillation were limited.

The brand new study examined the associations between premature menopause, age at menopause, and incident heart failure and atrial fibrillation. With data from the NHIS, the research team followed up with the participants until the tip of 2018 for new-onset heart failure and atrial fibrillation.

After analyzing the associations between age at menopause and incidence of heart failure and atrial fibrillation and adjusting for a similar aspects, the team found that the danger for heart failure increased because the age of menopause decreased.

“Our study indicates that reproductive history ought to be routinely considered along with traditional risk aspects corresponding to smoking when evaluating the longer term likelihood of heart failure and atrial fibrillation,” concluded Dr. Nam.