About 85 percent of menopausal women report at least one of the symptoms of menopause, which occurs due to a complex series of hormonal changes. The most common symptoms, often lasting for several years, include:

  • sleep disorder (insomnia, waking and sleeping difficulties)
  • sexual dysfunctions (reduced libido, urogenital disorders)
  • depressive disorders and irritability
  • hot flashes and excessive sweating
  • discomfort associated with muscle, joint pain (discomfort of bone-joint system, osteoporosis)

In some women, these symptoms are so severe that they affect their social and daily lives.

Although some women go through premature menopause at age 40, the average age of onset for natural menopause is 51 in the United States. However, 1 in every 10 women experiences natural menopause by age 45.

In a study published recently in the journal Menopause, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that women who experience hot flashes and night sweats early in life were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease. The research suggests menopausal symptoms in younger midlife women may mark adverse changes in dysfunction of the endothelium, or lining of the blood vessels, placing them at risk for heart disease.

The Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation enrolled women referred for coronary angiography for suspected myocardial ischemia. A total of 254 women — aged more than 50 years, postmenopausal, with both ovaries and not taking hormone therapy — underwent a baseline evaluation and were followed annually. A subset of participants underwent brachial artery ultrasound for flow-mediated dilation (FMD).

Researchers noted that women who had hot flashes before age 42 were more likely to have lower FMD, suggesting adverse endothelial changes and higher mortality rates.

This connection is important because heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S., killing 289,758 women in 2013 — about 1 in every 4 female deaths. Even with no symptoms, women may still be at risk for heart disease. In fact, almost two-thirds (64 percent) of women who die suddenly of coronary heart disease had no previous symptoms.

Despite increases in awareness over the past decade, only 54 percent of women recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.

Although studies have linked vasomotor symptoms (VMS) to markers of cardiovascular disease risk, few have considered clinical cardiovascular events. Dr. Rebecca C. Thurston, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Pittsburgh School of medicine, noted that future research may help predict midlife women at increased risk of cardiovascular disease, which would enable early prevention strategies.