on PinterestPremature menopause has been linked to a higher risk of coronary artery disease.
on PinterestPremature menopause has been linked to a higher risk of coronary artery disease. FG Trade/Getty Images
- Women who go through natural menopause before age 40 face a 40% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease.
- Black women are three times as likely to experience premature menopause as white women.
- Untreated menopause symptoms like night sweats and sleep disturbances can undermine the heart-healthy habits that lower cardiovascular risk.
- Experts say women should their menopause history with their doctors and focus on blood pressure, cholesterol, strength training, and stress management to protect long-term heart health.
Women who go through natural menopause before age 40 face a 40% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study published March 18 in JAMA Cardiology.
Premature menopause occurs when the ovaries stop functioning and menstrual periods end before age 40.
Current evidence suggests roughly 3–4% of women may experience some form of menopause before 40, which is higher than the previous 1% estimate for overt premature menopause. Black women are three times as likely to experience premature menopause as white women.
Researchers at Northwestern University analyzed data from more than 10,000 postmenopausal women across six major U.S. population-based studies from 1964 to 2018.
They found the 40% higher lifetime risk of heart attack or fatal coronary heart disease held up regardless of race.
Lead study author Priya Freaney, MD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said the findings should be viewed as empowering, not alarming.
“We’re talking about an event that happens before the midpoint of someone’s life,” she told Healthline. “That should be viewed as an opportunity…the earlier we can implement prevention, the more impact we can have in the long term.”
Effects of early menopause on heart health
Stephanie Faubion, MD, medical director of The Menopause Society, told Healthline that the connection between menopause and heart health stems from hormones. Faubion wasn’t involved in the study.
“The connection has to do with the early loss of estrogen, which helps promote heart, brain, and bone health, especially in these younger women,” Faubion said.
Freaney described a cascade of changes that occur as natural estrogen declines, regardless of age.
“Our muscle mass decreases, our visceral fat increases, fat moves to the belly, our arteries stiffen, our cholesterol goes up, our blood pressure goes up,” she said.
“All of these things taken together in a few years before and after menopause lead to an environment that is less healthy for the heart.”
Most cases of premature menopause have no clear explanation, though conditions like autoimmune diseases, infections, inflammatory conditions, and genetic mutations can trigger it.
Black women face higher early menopause risk
The study found that Black women experience premature menopause at more than three times the rate of white women — 15.5% compared with 4.8%.
While the 40% increase in heart disease risk applied regardless of race, the sheer frequency of premature menopause among Black women means the condition carries a far greater population-level impact.
Black women with premature menopause lived an average of 18.2 years free of heart disease
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