October 18 is World Menopause Day

By: Red Hot Mamas

Published: October 4, 2016

October 18th is the day that the International Menopause Society (IMS), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), has designated to focus on menopause, from hot flashes to heart health, and all things menopausal. The IMS is the first menopause society in the world, founded in 1978 with the mission of addressing gender-based and menopause-based issues, which, as it states on their website, “until then had not been regarded as important.”

World Menopause Day 2016

To co-ordinate with the theme of the 2016 World Congress, ‘Heart Health Matters,’ this year’s World Menopause Day Awareness Campaign highlights the opportunity of using the menopausal period to assess female-specific risk factors and prevent the development of cardiovascular disease.

Although it is a disease of aging, vascular disease initiates much earlier in life. Thus, there is a need to be aware of the potential to prevent the development of the disease from an early age, and continue this surveillance throughout life. The menopausal period and early menopause presents an ideal opportunity to assess cardiovascular risk and plan accordingly. Generally in this period, women will be seen by primary health care professionals and non-cardiovascular specialists.   This review addresses female-specific risk factors that may contribute to the potential development of CVD. It is important for all health care professionals dealing with women in midlife and beyond, to be cognisant of these risk factors and to initiate female specific preventative measures or to refer to a cardiovascular specialist.

Download (PDF, 338KB)

Source: http://www.imsociety.org/manage/images/pdf/d63c81f90774cc01a4e401c62f97a184.pdf