A new study has shown that early menopausal women are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease due to a decline in cardiac diastolic function.

Professor Park Seong-mi of the Department of Cardiology at Korea University Anam Hospital and Professor Bae Sung-a of the Department of Cardiology at Yongin Severance Hospital recently identified a close link between abnormal cardiac diastolic function and increased risk of cardiovascular disease in early menopausal women.

Diastolic function is the heart's ability to allow blood to flow smoothly into the heart when the heart is relaxed. It is considered to be of direct importance to heart health because when diastolic function is impaired, the heart has difficulty pumping blood efficiently throughout the body, which can lead to a number of cardiovascular diseases and heart failure.

The researchers followed 795 postmenopausal women enrolled in the database of the Women’s Heart Disease Research Working Group under the Korean Society of Cardiology (KoROSE) for an average of 771 days from January 2012 to May 2018.

Women who underwent early menopause (before age 45) had a 1.55-fold higher incidence of diastolic dysfunction and a 2.28-fold higher risk of hospitalization for major cardiovascular events, acute coronary syndrome, and heart failure compared to women who menopause normally, according to the research.

Early menopause did not lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular events among women without diastolic dysfunction. Still, among women with diastolic dysfunction, early menopause was associated with a 2.2-fold increased risk of cardiovascular events, the research showed.

These findings suggest that the effects of early menopause on women's cardiovascular health go beyond simple hormonal changes, the researchers explained.

"Although there have been estimates of the cardiovascular risk of early menopause or simple big data analyses, few studies have examined the mechanisms by observing patients in clinical practice," Professor Park said. "This study shows that hormonal changes caused by early menopause can directly affect the relaxation function of the heart, which may be an important consideration for the management and prevention of cardiovascular disease in early menopausal women."

Park continued, "We need to raise awareness of the impact of early menopause on women's heart health and call for a change in perception among the medical community and the general public to ensure that women who experience early menopause receive active cardiovascular disease prevention and management."

Professor Bae said, "This study, which reveals an association between early menopause and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, marks an important turning point in the management of women's heart health."

The study, "Early menopause is associated with abnormal diastolic function and poor clinical outcomes in women with suspected angina," was published in the March 2024 issue of Scientific Reports, an SCI-ranked international journal of Nature.