Middle-aged women who suffered from high blood pressure during pregnancy have an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, as well as pervasive menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.
- Women with high blood pressure during pregnancy are more at risk of developing bothersome menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes.
Usually appearing in the third trimester, pregnancy-induced hypertension or preeclampsia is characterized by abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries, even in women who do not usually suffer from hypertension.
Arterial hypertension affects up to 10% of pregnant women, especially very young women and those of a more advanced age who are having their first pregnancy. High blood pressure can cause the baby to suffer from growth retardation or premature delivery, and is also at risk for the future mother. Women are at increased risk of chronic hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke and early cardiovascular death.
A new study, published today online at Menopausethe journal of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), suggests that women with high blood pressure during pregnancy may also be at risk for more bothersome menopause symptoms, including hot flashes.
More severe menopause symptoms
Although hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are well known to doctors as risk factors for cardiovascular disease, no study has so far been interested in the link between them and other indicators of cardiovascular risk, such as hot flashes. during menopause.
This new study, which followed nearly 2,700 women, investigated this relationship between a history of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and menopausal symptoms. The findings show that women with a history of high blood pressure during pregnancy had more severe menopausal symptoms than women with no history or childless women. A more detailed analysis also allowed the researchers to find that women with hypertension who used hormone therapy had significantly higher total menopausal symptoms than women without such a history.
“This large, cross-sectional study shows a link between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and menopausal symptoms, both unique to women and predictive of future risk of cardiovascular disease. Future studies are needed to determine whether these risks are additive to better inform the development of more accurate models for cardiovascular risk prediction in women and risk reduction strategies.”said Dr. Stéphanie Faubion, lead author of the study and medical director of NAMS.
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