The cause of Kathy CHAU’s death is announced! The doctor reminds： Don’t ignore these heart alarms!
Recently, the news that actor Kathy CHAU passed away at the age of 57 made many people feel sorry, and also made people feel the fragility and impermanence of life.
On December 27th, Kathy CHAU’s sister issued a statement saying that according to the surveillance video and the appraisal of the forensic department, it was comprehensively judged that Kathy CHAU had a sudden heart attack.
For a time, the relationship between female menopause and cardiovascular health has also attracted many people’s attention. Previous studies have pointed out that women after menopause should pay special attention to heart health.
Postmenopausal women
Increased risk of heart disease
Why do women have an increased risk of heart disease after menopause? In fact, this is related to the changes in hormone levels in women.
In 2014, a study on the protective effect of estrogen on women’s cardiovascular system published in China Clinical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology pointed out that estrogen plays a very important role in preventing cardiovascular diseases besides regulating reproductive system. The increase of the incidence of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women is closely related to the significant decrease of estrogen level in postmenopausal women. ①
Previous epidemiological surveys have shown that the age of female coronary heart disease is 10-15 years later than that of male, and the incidence of female coronary heart disease before menopause is only 1/10-3/10 of that of male, but the incidence and mortality of coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women have increased significantly. ②③
In June 2018, a study published in the journal of American Heart Association, Sex Hormones and Cardiovascular Diseases in Postmenopausal Women, also showed that the increase in the ratio of testosterone to estradiol (a kind of estrogen) in postmenopausal women was related to the increased risk of myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure. The higher the testosterone level, the greater the risk, and the higher the estradiol level, the lower the risk. Every standardized unit of testosterone-estrogen ratio increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by 19%, coronary heart disease by 45% and heart failure by 31%. ④
Heart alarm signal
Be regarded as menopausal discomfort
After menopause, many women mistake some symptoms that may be heart disease, such as chest tightness, wheezing when walking, heart pounding and so on, as the inevitable phenomenon of menopause, but ignore that this may be an alarm signal sent by the heart.
Xu Guochen, former deputy chief physician of the Department of Cardiology, Fourth Medical Center, General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army, once reminded in a health newspaper article that before menopause, high levels of estrogen in women’s bodies made it difficult for blood vessels to harden and block; After menopause, estrogen in women is greatly reduced, and the heart and blood vessels lack buffering adaptability, so the incidence of cardiovascular diseases rises sharply. In addition, the endocrine level changes in menopause, autonomic nervous dysfunction, there will be upset, sweating and other symptoms, easy to make people mistakenly think that menopause syndrome is not taken seriously. ⑤
Dr. Xu Guochen said that if menopausal women often have symptoms such as extreme fatigue, dizziness, nausea, palpitation, fainting, shortness of breath, chest pain or feeling pressure on their back and upper body, they should pay attention to it and go to the hospital for examination in time.
Sharla Cheung Zhou, chief physician of the Chest Pain Center of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, published an article on WeChat WeChat official account in Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2022, saying that menopausal women have symptoms of palpitation, chest tightness, poor sleep and irritability, so it is best to go to the hospital to have an electrocardiogram first and make a preliminary screening for heart diseases. Sometimes, although the ECG is normal, if there are high-risk factors such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcoholism and family genetic history of heart disease, it is best to do another exercise load test (that is, running ECG). If there are ischemic changes, it is suspected that you have coronary heart disease, and it is recommended to go to a cardiology specialist for further diagnosis and treatment. ⑥
Health times data map
Women after 50 years old
Take care of your heart.
1. Control physical indicators.
Doctors in Sharla Cheung said that menopause and old age are irresistible, and only by controlling the controllable factors can cardiovascular diseases be effectively prevented. Controlling the controllable factors is that obese people should lose weight properly, smokers and alcoholics should quit smoking and limit alcohol, and patients with hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia should control their blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids well. ⑥
2. Pay attention to the health of diet
Appropriate supplementation of milk and bean products such as soybean milk, tofu, soybean milk and other foods rich in estrogen and milk with high calcium content. Eating fruits, vegetables and fish is also beneficial food. Avoid eating greasy and full meals, which will increase the burden on the stomach and the risk of obesity.
3. Exercise can delay aging
Proper exercise can delay aging. For postmenopausal women, it is a simple and effective exercise method to take a walk every day and practice Qigong or Baduanjin, but it is based on the principle of not being tired and full of energy after exercise, and remember to persevere.
4. Keep a cheerful mood
Increasing social communication makes people feel happy, which is an important factor in preventing and treating diseases, avoiding being too excited and overworked, so as to avoid too much burden on the heart.
This article is synthesized from:
① Plateau, Huining. Study on the protective effect of estrogen on female cardiovascular system [J]. China Clinical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2014(1):3.
②Rosano G, Vitale C, Spoletini l, et al. Cardiovascular health in the menopausal woman: impact of the timing of hormone replacement therapy.Climacteric，2012，15: 299-305
③Huang T,Yang B, Zheng J, et al. Cardiovascular Disease Mortality and Cancer Incidence in Vegetarians: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. Ann Nutr Metab, 2012. 60:233-240.
④Di Zhao, et al. Endogenous Sex Hormones and Incident Cardiovascular Disease in Post-Menopausal Women. J Am Coll Cardiol. Volume 71,Issue 22, June 2018
⑤ June-October, 2013 Health Times "Beware of Heart Alarm after Menopause"
⑥2022-07-07 《 Shaping Heart School | Care for the Heart after Menopause 》 by Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Source: Health Times