Women’s lives are full of biological constraints that put them at an increased risk of many life-threatening health disorders. Call it an unlucky draw or a divine bias, but this fact can not be understated. Estrogen and progesterone are just as moody as other hormones, and their consequential menstruation and menopause open up many women to a host of disabilities.
Recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) drew a direct link between irregular heartbeat or Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and Menopause, like it wasn’t already too much for old people to be dealing with the usual symptoms of menopause, combined with detriments of old age.
Menopause And Heart Disorders
Our hearts have four chambers, two upper ones, and two lower ones. Ideally, in a healthy heart, all four chambers beat in sync with each other. But when the upper chambers fail to coordinate with the lower chambers, that's when we call it AFib. AFib causes an irregular, often rapid heart rate and reduces blood flow.
There are many reasons for AFib. It could be a genetic defect, or brought on by old age, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, or life conditions such as high levels of stress, trouble sleeping and experiencing stressful life events. The JAHA study proposed that if these life conditions occur in post-menopausal women, even those who do not possess traditional risk factors for AFib, it increases their risk of developing an irregular heartbeat.
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JAHA Study Findings
The researchers assessed 83,736 women who had gone through menopause, and on average were about 64 years old. The researchers monitored them for about 10.5 years and found that 23,954 of them developed AFib over those years.
Trying to understand this development, they developed two categories and divided the studied women accordingly. The first category was titled 'Stress Cluster,' which included women who had experienced stressful life events, felt depressed, and had trouble sleeping. The second category, the 'Strain Cluster,' included factors like being optimistic, having social support, dealing with social stress, feeling cynical, and expressing emotions.
According to the study women who scored higher in the Stress Cluster and the Strain Cluster were more likely to develop AFib. Specifically, for every increase in their score in these clusters, their risk of AFib went up.
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The research further noted that out of all the individual factors that were considered, two stood out as the strongest predictors of AFib: trouble sleeping or insomnia and experiencing stressful life events. Additionally, the impact of the ‘Strain Cluster’ was more significant in women who had lower traditional risk factors for AFib.
Limitations Of The Study
Although the study raises a curious point, there are many limitations to it, the researchers noted, which should be considered before you go into a full spiral regarding a potential heart disorder:
- Researchers assessed psychological and social factors in women only at a single point in time. As your experiences are more the older you are, events that can trigger serious emotional turmoil may have already occurred before the women joined the study.
- 90% of the participants were white American females, making it unclear whether the results would be the same for women from other racial or ethnic backgrounds.
- The study was also unclear whether these findings could be applied to younger women who haven’t yet gone through menopause.
- The study doesn’t explain how stress or insomnia directly causes AFib, rather it only points to a correlation between these conditions.
In conclusion, while the study focused on post-menopausal women, the research suggests that being aware of eventual possibilities like AFib earlier in life may have health benefits down the line. The study also seemed to suggest that combined lifetime exposure to stress factors may be the real culprit, and not just experiencing emotional turmoils after menopause. So, it is crucial for everyone, especially women to be practising preventive and heart-healthy measures always. Lastly, even though the study didn’t inform whether stress management or improved sleep habits could reduce the risk of AFib, it is still essential for you to give these a try. Sleeping on time and managing your stress will not only protect you from AFib but a host of other diseases by keeping your immunity up.