Premenstrual disorders linked to higher risk for heart disease, study finds
Premenstrual disorders are associated with a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, a large long -term study revealed.
New research analyzing patients’ health data of more than 3 million women in Sweden over a period of 20 years have revealed that those who were diagnosed with premenstrual syndrome (PMS) or premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) had a risk of 11% of cardiovascular development at a given time, compared to women who had no diagnosis.
Young women who underwent a premenstrual disorder before the age of 25 had an even stronger risk of developing heart disease, 24%.
Heart disease is the main cause of death in women in the United States
“It is another reminder of taking care of your cardiovascular health when you are young and that you do not wait until fifties or later,” said Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson, study co-author and epidemiology professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.
In order to be diagnosed with a more intense PMS or PMDD, symptoms such as mood swings, fatigue, cramps and food cravings must be “bad” to be judged “moderate” or “serious”, or have a significant impact on the ability of a patient to work, said Bertone-Johnson.
Researchers have analyzed the subtypes of cardiovascular disease, including heart failure, arrhythmia and irregular heart rate. A arrhythmia occurs when the electrical signals of the heart refresh themselves, making the heart beat too quickly or too slowly. A arrhythmias and ischemic heart disease, the damage caused by the plate that has accumulated in the coronary arteries, showed the strongest associations with the PMS and the PMDD.
Although research has not studied the possible reasons for the link, Bertone-Johnson and other experts believe that premenstrual disorders could indicate other underlying physiological conditions.
“Finally, he will appear as a cardiovascular disease, but before that, he appears in premenstrual symptoms,” said Bertone-Johnson.
These conditions may include inflammation and alteration of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system-a hormonal system that regulates blood pressure, said Dr. Nieka Goldberg, a cardiologist specializing in women’s health at Nyu Langone. These inflammatory changes can cause an increase in the accumulation of plaque around the arteries of the heart – increasing the risk of heart disease. Goldberg was not involved in the new research.
Even taking into account other cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, weight, use of drugs and certain pre -existing conditions, women who had been diagnosed with a premenstrual disorder were more likely to develop heart problems.
Researchers in Sweden have also analyzed pairs of sisters as a means of taking into account genetic and environmental factors.
There are limits to research. Bertone-Johnson said they only looked at women who had a clinical diagnosis of a premenstrual disorder and, because the population was based in Sweden, patients were probably mainly white.
Dr. Priya Jalinghani, endocrinologist at Nyu Langone, thinks that there should be more emphasis on women’s risk factors for heart disease, which may include conditions of reproduction, hormonal and metabolic.
This study as well as others suggest a link between PMS and / or PMDD and hypertension, or high blood pressure. However, high blood pressure is often underdiagnosed in women, according to the women’s health office.
Goldberg said one of the most important implications for this study is how it can open the way to diagnosis of cardiovascular diseases in younger patients.
“This is an excellent step towards early identification of women at risk of heart disease earlier in life,” she said. “Although the risk of heart disease risk in premenstrual disorders will need a more in -depth study, it is important for doctors to obtain complete menstrual history, including the presence of PMDs in their patients.”
