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Your period is a heart vital sign
Signs in the cycle
A first period before age 12, or after age 16, comes with a slightly higher risk for heart disease. Irregular or miserable periods matter too. So do trouble conceiving, whether a woman nursed after children, and pregnancy losses. Hardly anyone asks young women or older women about any of it.
PCOS and metabolism
PCOS affects 6 to 10 percent of young women and can bring high blood pressure, lipid abnormalities, and blood sugar abnormalities. Their metabolic picture is not entirely healthy, and they carry higher cardiovascular risk as they age. For years young women with PCOS were told only that their periods were off or that fertility might be a problem, and nobody put it together as a metabolic syndrome that can affect the heart over a lifetime.
Everything that goes on in the OBGYN's office has to reach the internist's or cardiologist's office.
Why would periods say anything about the heart?
The menstrual cycle is driven by estrogen and progesterone, the same hormones that influence blood vessels, cholesterol, and how the body handles sugar. Large cohort studies have linked both early and late first periods to higher cardiovascular risk later in life. Irregular cycles can signal underlying conditions such as PCOS or thyroid disease. A cycle, in other words, is a regular output of the body's hormonal system, and changes in it can reflect changes in that system.
How does PCOS affect metabolism?
Polycystic ovary syndrome is tied to insulin resistance in a large share of women who have it. High insulin levels push the ovaries to make more androgens, which disrupts ovulation and the cycle. Insulin resistance is also linked to higher blood pressure, abnormal blood fats, and weight gain around the middle. The condition is among the most common hormonal disorders of reproductive-age women.
Why does nursing show up in a heart history?
Lactation draws on the mother's stored fat and changes how her body handles sugar and fats. Research from the Nurses' Health Study II has linked longer total time spent breastfeeding with a lower risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Pregnancy losses and difficulty conceiving are recorded alongside it because they can reflect vascular or metabolic conditions. These items together make up what is called a reproductive history.
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