As you’re getting older, many age-related health risks will be brought to your attention by your doctor. This can become concerning, taxing, and to some very annoying. Keeping track and monitoring all these things can take a lot out of you. Doesn’t aging and developing wrinkles suck enough? Yet, I must unearth another pesky health issue that is associated with aging, cardiovascular disease. Yes, this a daunting and scary thing to approach. A countless number of things can contribute to heart disease, such as poor diet, genetics, lack of exercise, and much more. But one aspect that you might want to pay more attention to is hormones. It has been shown that there’s a positive relationship between estrogen replacement therapy and preventing heart disease in women. Timing is crucial, though, as estrogen therapy has been shown to be the most beneficial for premenopausal women and recently menopausal women.
How Low Hormones Affect Your Heart
It has been shown in many studies that having low levels of estrogen can potentially increase aging women’s risk of developing heart disease “It has been proposed that deprivation of ovarian hormones, specifically estrogen, in menopause is causally related to increased CVD risk in aging women.”[1] Another study noted that “Female protection against CVD is associated with sex hormone levels as the incidence and severity of CVD increases in women postmenopause.”[2] If you’re not monitoring your estrogen levels post menopause, you might be putting your health at risk.
How Hormone Therapy Can Help
Countless studies have observed that hormone replacement therapy can help prevent cardiovascular disease in women, “Results from more than 40 observational studies conducted in women over 3 decades have repeatedly indicated the cardioprotective effects of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT).”[3] Another study stated, “The 20 year follow up study of the 70,533 postmenopausal participants (accruing 808,825 person-years of follow up) demonstrated significantly fewer CVD events, non-fatal myocardial infarctions (MIs) or fatal CHD in women on MHT.”[4] It has been seen time and time again that hormone replacement therapy can help prevent cardiovascular disease in women. It has been observed to be potentially cardio protective in numerous ways.
Timing Is Crucial
Timing is essential when it comes to the beneficial effects of hormone replacement therapy for preventing CVD in women. After many studies noted a similar timetable for the effectiveness of hormone replacement on preventing CVD a hypothesis emerged called the “timing hypothesis.” Researchers Phillips and Langer described this hypothesis as thus. “that the time since menopause determined the effect of MHT on the cardiovascular system: MHT was cardioprotective in women who were perimenopausal or early postmenopausal, while MHT administered late in menopause had neutral effects.” So, if you’re interested in taking part in hormone replacement therapy to improve your cardiovascular health, it might be wise to act early.
When to Seek Help
It’s hard to know when to take a serious look at your health. You may think it’s still not the right time to think about the state of your heart. If you’re a woman approaching menopause, you may want to seek out a doctor to look over your health and see if you’re having any vascular or other heart-related issues. If they determine that anything is out of order, you can work out a game plan.
If you’re interested in starting hormone replacement therapy to prevent CVD, as I stated before, it might be more beneficial if you start early. The most optimal time being premenopause.
How We Can Help
If you’re an adult woman who is near menopause or recently menopausal, you may want to get your hormone levels checked. A blood test will be able to pin down if any of your hormone levels are irregular. If they are medically irregular, a doctor may recommend bioidentical hormone therapy or BHRT for short. Bioidentical hormones are man-made hormones that are chemically similar to hormones produced by humans. Many argue that BHRT is a more safe and consistent form of hormone therapy.
BHRT therapy is done by implanting hormones in your skin. Implanting hormone pellets is a simple and non-invasive procedure, typically taking less than five minutes. This treatment is called pellet-based therapy and is quickly becoming one of the preferred methods of hormone therapy for both providers and patients. Essentially, a provider will subcutaneously place hormone pellets in your skin. This subcutaneous placement of hormones allows patients to receive a steady flow of hormones 24/7. This constant flow helps you potentially avoid unwanted side effects.
If you’ve decided to pursue Hormone Therapy, it’s critical you find a provider that will dose hormones precisely, and every provider that works with Simpatra™ has access to a cutting-edge dosing technology. This technology eliminates the guesswork when it comes to dosing and allows physicians to accurately dose patients based on each individual’s unique blood tests — ensuring that your treatment will be efficient and effective. Simpatra™ will also provide additional tools that allow for your patient journey to remain consistent throughout the whole process.
Hormone replacement pellets must be of the highest quality to ensure the best results, and all Simpatra™ providers receive their pellets from highly reputable and respected manufactures. To learn more about BHRT or to find a provider near you, visit us at www.simpatra.health.
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Disclaimer: The Simpatra website and blog does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content from the Simpatra website and blog is not intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment.The information provided on this website is intended for general consumer understanding only. The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. As health and nutrition research continuously evolves, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information presented on this website.
[1] Bowling, M., Oparil, S., Hage, F., Hilgers, R., & Xing, D. (2012). Sex Hormones and Vascular Function. Sex Hormones. doi: 10.5772/38940
[2] Hayward, C. (2000). The roles of gender, the menopause and hormone replacement on cardiovascular function. Cardiovascular Research, 46(1), 28–49. doi: 10.1016/s0008-6363(00)00005-5
[3] Chae, C. (2004). Postmenopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy. Clinical Trials in Heart Disease, 349–363. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-7216-0408-4.50032-9
[4] A prospective, observational study of postmenopausal hormone therapy and primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. (2001). Maturitas, 38(3), 219–220. doi: 10.1016/s0378-5122(01)00216-x