Healthcare

In the study that reported in July 21, 2010 of Menopause and archived in The Journal of The North American Menopause Society, which is involved 493 women who interviewed by telephone after 1 year discharge from the hospital for myocardial infarction (MI), the investigator found that compared to women who experienced menopause at 50 years or older, women who have early menopause at 40 years or younger are at risk for angina after a myocardial infarction (MI).

The mean Age At Menopause (AAM) in the study was 45.2 ± 7.8 years. The aim of study to measures the aspects of behavioral, treatment, and health status from post MI.

The AAM of participants in this study classified as following;
- 40 years or younger,
- 41 to 49 years, and
- 50 years or older.

The researchers then determined whether age predicted 1-year post-MI angina and severity of angina while taking into account pre-MI angina, demographics, comorbidities, MI severity, and quality of care.

From the study the investigator found 132 of all the women (26.8%) experienced early menopause at 40 years or younger. These women were more often smokers but otherwise had similar comorbidities and characteristics as women experiencing later menopause both before and after MI.

However, in a multivariable analysis, the rate of 1-year angina in women with an AAm of 40 years or younger (32.4%) was double that of women with an AAM of 50 years or older (12.2%), as was the severity of angina.

Therefore, the author of the study, Susmita Parashar, MD, with Emory University in Atlanta, and colleagues conclude, “Early menopause is a significant predictor of angina at 1 year after MI, independent of comorbidities, MI severity, and quality of care.”

According to the researchers, deprivation of endogenous estrogen may increase the extent of vascular inflammation, endothelial and microvascular dysfunction, and coagulation abnormalities; and decrease arterial compliance, all of which could cause angina in the setting of coronary artery disease.

They suggest, a simple, inexpensive, and easily administered question regarding age at menopause may help identify high-risk women and guide efforts toward improving treatments and quality of life of post-MI women.