It’s been an interesting year on so many fronts and here we are at the end of another year. Not only with all the pandemic chaos and the frustrations and disruptions, but also because of the women from around the world who join me on my programme. They keep me on my toes with their questions and queries about their menopause symptoms.Â
One of the things I often say however, is that menopause isn’t just about hot flushes – there are so many other things going on inside our body to do with our ageing.
For example, it is becoming well known that our cardiovascular health is uniquely related to the severity and frequency of our hot flushes. Something that I became aware of when exploring the cardiovascular research and it’s relevance to women’s health as they aged.Â
As I’ve often mentioned in my articles this year, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death among women as they move into post-menopause, but there isn’t enough focus on this during menopause. And there should be.
The focus on our menopause symptoms has primarily been on hormonal changes associated with menopause, but recent data has also considered how other menopause-related factors, including menopausal symptoms, relate to changing CVD risk in women. [Thurston, Chang et al, 2016]. One of these factors relates to changes to the lining of our blood vessels. This is known as vascular stiffness and is partly caused by some changes to the thickness of our arteries, which occurs during menopause. If you are already in post-menopause and still experiencing hot flushes, then this is why. Â
Which is why this year, as part of the continual development of the MyMTâąÂ programmes, I have explored women’s heart health and have a brand new module waiting for you in the programmes that focuses on the evidenced lifestyle solutions that we need to put into place as we move through menopause to reduce vascular stiffness. Yes, it’s that important!
I hope you enjoyed my articles on women’s heart health earlier this year – I have more to come on this topic as well as our metabolic changes and weight gain in the New Year as my January sale gets underway. [It is already open if you are interested in joining me for a health and weight re-set in early 2022].Â
As the year has progressed I hope that you have been able to enjoy my newsletters and the information that I share with you. It’s my privilege to be able to do this with you.Â
The end of the year is pretty frenetic for women, so I have made you this brief video during the week to share my thoughts with you. I hope you can listen to it when you get time.Â
Watch out for my emails coming your way over the next month too – these have my annual JANUARY sale information in them. It would be such a privilege to have you join me on the weight loss programme called Transform Me.Â
Enjoy your festive season celebrations and I look forward to you joining me in 2022.Â
Dr Wendy Sweet (PhD)/ MyMTâąÂ Founder/ Member: Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine.Â
Reference:
Thurston RC, Chang Y, Barinas-Mitchell E, Jennings JR, Landsittel DP, Santoro N, von KĂ€nel R, Matthews KA. (2016). Menopausal hot flashes and carotid intima media thickness among midlife women. Stroke. 47(12):2910-2915. doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.116.014674.Â
