FAQs: Serious Health Issues at Menopause

FAQs: Serious Health Issues at Menopause

• Heart Disease

  Many women think of heart disease as a man’s disease. But in reality, diseases of the heart and circulatory system (cardiovascular diseases) are the number one killer of women in North America. After age 55, more than half of all the deaths in women are caused by cardiovascular disease. Risk for this disease increases after menopause.

   

• Osteoporosis

  Postmenopausal osteoporosis is a skeletal disorder in which bone strength has weakened to a point where the bone is fragile and at higher risk for fractures. Bone strength and fracture risk are dependent on bone quality and bone mineral density. Risk for this disorder increases after menopause.

   

• Cancer

  Menopause is not associated with increased cancer risk. However, some cancer rates typically increase with age, so postmenopausal women should be informed about the most common cancers that may affect them. Also, some of the therapies used to treat menopause symptoms are associated with an increased or a decreased risk for certain types of cancer