Hot flashes linked to major chronic disease

While most people associate hot flashes with menopause, a new study has found they could point towards something more serious for women and their health.

Research published in the medical journal Menopause found that hot flashes could be linked to an increased risk of heart disease.

Around 70 per cent of women experience hot flashes throughout their life, with some experiencing them for over a decade before they begin to subside.

The study’s authors focussed on women 40 and 60 years who reported having hot flashes either daily or not at all.

None of the participants were smokers or had a history of cardio vascular disease.

The authors concluded that the arteries were affected by hot flashes and that cardiovascular changes could be occurring far earlier than previously thought.

Interestingly, they found no link between hot flashes and an increased risk of heart disease in women aged between 54 and 60.

However, this means that women over 60 who have gone through menopause and come out the other side could still be at an increased risk if they had hot flashes between their 40s and 60s.

Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of the North American Menopause Society, told Medical News Today it was an important discovery.

“Hot flashes are not just a nuisance,” she says.

“They have been linked to cardiovascular, bone, and brain health. In this study, physiologically measured hot flashes appear linked to cardiovascular changes occurring early during the menopause transition.”

Did you have hot flashes throughout menopause? Do you still get them?