Via practica 6/2006

CLIMACTERIC AND THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

The last century has brought also a noticeable life prolongation od women after their menopause. This phase of life represented not only a period of dramatic change in their hormonal status, but also in ocurence of remarkable alterations of the cardiovascular system (hypertension, coronary heart disease, strokes). Changes in the reproductive organs during climacteric are associated mainly with a decreased estrogen production and it was therefore supposed that its substitution will lead, in addition to a restraint of climacteric symptoms, to a dramatic reducion of the chronic disease in question. In spite od great expectations stimulated by results of observational studies the extensive randomised trials (HERS and WHI) showed that estrogens are not the option either for secondary or primary prevention of cardiovascular disorders. The prevention and therapy building blocks of the cardiovascular system remained henceforth the change both of the lifestyle changes and medicaments, which not only influence positively the risk factors but also reduce remarkably the mortality (acetylsalicylic acid, statins, antihypertensives and the like).

Keywords: climacteric and cardiovascular system, prevention of cardiovascular diseases in women.