Obesity significantly increases heart failure risk in postmenopausal women

Women entering menopause before age 45 are known to have a higher risk of heart failure, and women who are obese have a significantly increased risk of heart failure going through postmenopause -- age 55 or older, according to the latest study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, An open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association

According to the American Heart Association, women produce less estrogen and progesterone after menopause, a change that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart failure

Previous research has found that women who go through menopause earlier have a higher risk of heart failure

"The knowledge gap may influence the incidence of postmenopausal-onset heart failure in people aged 55 or older," according to lead study author, IMO Ebong, MD, MS, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of California, Davis in Sacramento, California

"We know that obesity increases the risk of heart failure, and the onset of menopause is associated with increased physical obesity," Ebong said

Researchers analyzed health data from nearly 4,500 postmenopausal women who participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Community (ARIC) study

For analysis, participants were grouped by age at entering menopause: less than 45 years; 45-49 years; 50 years; 55 years and older

The women provided their age at menopause and had their weight measured at the fourth follow-up visit for many of the baseline measurements and assessments

After adjusting for a variety of other health and life>

The analysis found significant links between age at menopause, BMI and waist circumference and heart failure risk:

• For every 6-point increase in BMI, the risk of heart failure increased by 39% for women who were premenopausal before age 45; 33% for the 45-49 age group; and for women who were postmenopausal (over 55) double (2.

  
  

• For women 55 or older entering menopause, each 6-inch increase in waist circumference nearly tripled (2.

  
  

• Waist circumference did not significantly increase the risk of heart failure in any other women of menopausal age

  
  

"We had expected that the effect of obesity on heart failure risk would be most pronounced in women who had gone through menopause earlier

Ebong said the information provided by this study may be useful in screening for heart failure and counseling postmenopausal women on heart failure prevention

"The age at which women enter menopause is an important factor, and women should share this information with their doctors to guide the assessment of their risk of heart failure," Ebong said

The current study is limited because it did not include enough women to analyze the different types of heart failure individually

"Our analysis should be repeated according to heart failure subtype to preserve and reduce ejection fraction heart failure to gain a clearer picture of heart failure risk estimates and to guide screening and prevention protocols," Ebong said
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