Early Menstruation Could Mean Higher Heart Health Risks, Research Says

© iStock / iStock Reproductive factors were linked to a higher chance of atrial fibrillation and other problems in one study, but researchers say women can adjust their risk.

When did your first period start?

This question is common in the ob-gyn's office, but research shows that cardiologists should ask it too.

In a study published last month in the Journal of the American Heart Association, researchers wrote that they confirmed a link between genes that predict a woman's age at first menopause and menopause, age at first birth and the number of live births at high risk of stroke. Cardiovascular disease, stroke and other heart conditions.

Using genetic data from more than 100,000 women worldwide, researchers have determined that a number of reproductive factors are associated with a higher risk of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and stroke.

Women whose genes predicted a younger age at first birth were 1.49 times more likely to develop coronary heart disease than those without this genetic variation, and 1.25 times more likely to have a stroke. And women whose genetics predicted more than two live births were 2.91 times more likely to develop atrial fibrillation than their counterparts.

But the data also shows that women can change their risk. Controlling body mass index, cholesterol levels, and systolic blood pressure can reduce the risk for those whose genes predict they will be younger at birth. Likewise, BMI can affect the risk of women whose genes predict they will have their first period before the age of 12.

Studies have shown no relationship between age at menopause and atrial fibrillation.

Women can't control their genes, and researchers say there's nothing to worry about if you get your period or have your first child early. Instead, they say, the study adds gender-specific factors to the list of variables doctors need to consider. It also means that modifiable risk factors, such as BMI and cholesterol, must be monitored more closely.

"The misconception that cardiovascular disease affects men is costing women's health, even their lives," Sonia Babu Narayan, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research, said in a news release.

"If we are to save more women's lives, asking about menstruation and pregnancy should become routine when determining each woman's risk of heart disease and stroke," she said.

A glass of this liquid is enough Reversible arterial occlusion and hypotension - answered the doctor