Heart disease risk factors -- such as abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood pressure-- appear to increase before a woman goes through menopause, not after, new research finds. "These risk factors related to heart disease and stroke appear to worsen rapidly in the years leading up to menopause, and during the postmenopausal period they progress less rapidly," said, the study's senior author. He's an associate professor of pediatric endocrinology at the University of US. In the past, he said, experts believed that a rapid increase in heart disease and stroke risk factors took place in women after menopause.
They thought this was when women "catch up" to men's risk. However, the new research finds the rapid increase in risk factors starts well before the last menstrual period. The real danger zone, the author’s team concluded, was before and during menopause.…
