Long-Term Coronary Disease Risk of Premature Menopause

Clinical Takeaway

: In a large cohort, menopause before age 40 was associated with a 40% increased lifetime risk for heart disease.

Context

We’re increasingly recognizing that women’s reproductive history is associated with their downstream cardiac risk. In the current analysis, researchers examined the association between premature natural menopause (<40 years old) and lifetime risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a cohort of 10,000 postmenopausal women drawn from 6 population-based longitudinal studies in the U.S.

Key Results

For every 1000 patient-years of follow-up, crude incidence of CHD after age 55 was higher in women with premature natural menopause (≈8–9 cases vs. 5–6).
Premature menopause was associated with a 40% higher estimated lifetime risk of incident CHD.

Comment

This study builds on earlier findings that suggest higher short-term CHD risk for women with pr…

Reviewing Author

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.C.

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology/American Heart Association