Timing of menopause onset may increase heart failure risk in women

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"Postmenopausal women who reached menopause at an earlier age or who never gave birth are at a higher risk for heart failure, according to research published today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Previous research has found that hormones present during a woman's reproductive period may influence her risk for heart disease and women who experience early menopause may be at an elevated risk for heart disease. Hormone levels during the reproductive period may be affected by menstrual cycling and pregnancy.

Researchers examined 28,516 postmenopausal women without cardiovascular disease from the Women's Health Initiative to test associations between total number of live births, age at first pregnancy lasting at least six months, and total reproductive duration (time from first menstruation to menopause) with incident heart failure. 

During an average follow-up of 13.1 years, 5.2 percent of women were hospitalized for heart failure. Short total reproductive duration was associated with an increased risk of heart failure, which was found to be related to an earlier age at menopause and was more pronounced in women who experienced natural, rather than surgical, menopause.

Women who never gave birth were found to be at an increased risk for diastolic heart failure, a type of heart failure where the left side of the heart does not relax as well as it should. The authors did not find that this relationship was due to infertility. Having more children was not associated with heart failure risk..."

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https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170515140847.htm