Heart Health and Menopause
Heart health is an essential consideration for women of any age, but it’s especially crucial for those going through menopause, after which heart health can start to decline. In fact, the CDC’s most recent data shows that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S.—and that includes cancer and car accidents! So, let’s talk about what can happen to your heart during menopause and the steps you can take to give your heart health a boost.
Heart Health During Menopause
As you age, your risk for heart disease increases. But beyond the factor of age, the process of menopause may affect your heart health, too. Cardiologists maintain that estrogen plays a role in maintaining the suppleness of the blood vessels as well as protecting the artery wall. The drop in estrogen that women undergo during menopause could correspond to a drop in cardiovascular health. Yet the American Heart Association doesn’t endorse estrogen replacement therapy to help prevent heart disease because the evidence from the studies completed so far hasn’t been persuasive. Instead, data from one of the most extensive studies even showed a small uptick in risk for heart disease for women who take hormone replacement therapy. However, there are lots of options for keeping your heart in the best condition possible that have the science to prove their efficacy.
Tips for Boosting Heart Health
The most effective ways to take care of your heart will help improve your overall health, too. The American Heart Association suggests that staying up to date on your medical checkups is crucial; so is maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, developing an exercise regimen, taking good care of your mental health, and quitting smoking as soon as possible. Taking those steps to reduce lifestyle factors that accelerate heart disease can improve health at any age.
Another, lesser-known tip for boosting heart health: keep up your sex life! Regular sexual activity can lead to a whole host of medical benefits, including pain alleviation, improved mood, better-quality sleep, and a reduced risk for developing heart disease. Though most of the studies performed have been on men, the idea is that cardiovascular health may be linked to sexual health.
However, for women, there can be a big asterisk around the idea of having sex after menopause. One of the most common side effects of menopause is vaginal dryness. Post-menopause sexual activity can seem utterly unfeasible with vaginal dryness because of the itching, burning, and all-around discomfort that happens when you’re suffering from vaginal dryness. Though lubricant can work as a stopgap solution, it doesn’t help your vagina feel restored to its typical moisture level long-term.
There’s Another Option
Women don’t have to let vaginal dryness stop them from engaging in the heart-healthy activity of sex. Membrasin® offers an estrogen-free vaginal moisture supplement that have been clinically studied. SBA24™ demonstrated to help restore the health of the genital tract and improve the symptoms of chronic vaginal dryness. So, don’t put off sex any longer. Try the Membrasin® 2-Step Starter Pack, and find out how comfortable post-menopause sex can be.
