Take Care of Your Heart and Bones

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You may not even notice two important changes that happen with menopause.

• Loss of bone tissue that can weaken your bones and cause osteoporosis.
• Heart disease risk may grow, due to age-related increases in weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Osteoporosis. To maintain strong bones, the body is always breaking down old bone and replacing it with new, healthy bone. For women, the loss of estrogen around the time of menopause causes more bone to be lost than is replaced. If too much bone is lost, bones become thin and weak and can break easily. Many people do not know they have weak bones until they break a wrist, hip, or spine bone (vertebrae). Doctors can test bone density (bone densitometry) to find out if you are at risk of osteoporosis.

You can lower your risk of bone loss and osteoporosis by making changes to your lifestyle - regular weight-bearing exercise and getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D can help. There are also drugs available that prevent bone loss. Talk to your doctor to find out what is best for you.

learn more about osteoporosis from Dr. Gerald Vitamvas, OB/GYN, Advanced Healthcare

Heart disease. Younger women have a lower risk of heart disease than do men of the same age. But after menopause, a woman's risk of heart disease is almost the same as a man's. In fact, heart disease is the major cause of death in U.S. women, killing more women than lung or breast cancer. It's important to know your blood pressure, and levels of cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose.

You can lower your chance of heart disease by eating a healthy diet, not smoking, losing weight and exercising regularly. There also are drugs that can help. Talk to your doctor to be sure you are doing everything possible to protect your heart.

Learn more about heart disease from Paul Burstein, M.D., obstetrician/gynecologist with Columbia St. Mary's and Clinical Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Wisconsin

New evidence also suggests that menopause may increase the risk for macular degeneration and colon cancer.

Also, be sure to get regular pelvic and breast exams, Pap tests and mammograms.

Source: National Institutes of Health