cholesterol evaluated every five years. (Baseline cholesterol testing for children and adolescents is recommended.) If there is a family history of high cholesterol or if there has been a significant health change, such as abdominal weight gain, times of severe stress, or menopause, experts urge additional testing.
Regular testing is crucial since the risk of heart disease increases the longer high cholesterol is left untreated. A silent killer might also be cholesterol.
Naturally, not all women who experience menopause end up with high cholesterol. An average increase in cholesterol levels is typically not immediately concerning if someone’s baseline cholesterol was good and if their other risk factors for heart disease are minimal.
However, if cholesterol levels or other cardiovascular disease risk factors (including family history, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and smoking) are high, further testing may be necessary. A coronary calcium scan, which gauges the degree of plaque formation in the heart’s arteries, is among the additional exams that doctors might advise.
Effective Treatment
The initial advice for women whose cholesterol increases to harmful levels throughout menopause is to change their lifestyle. While aging and genetics are inevitable, we may alter our lifestyles to lessen their impacts. Changing your diet can reduce cholesterol by 20 to 30 milligrams per deciliter. Prevention is the best course of action, which entails leading a healthy lifestyle for as long as feasible. Your cholesterol level’s history is just as important as its current level.
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How to Prioritize Cholesterol and Why
Menopause frequently occurs during a period in women’s life that may be stressful and hectic, when their professions are still going strong, and they may be caring for both their parents and their children and their families. Amid these demands, women frequently neglect their health, skip workouts, eat unhealthily, and skip out on regular medical care, such as cholesterol screenings.
However, it’s crucial to have good practices now. Because women are at a significantly higher risk of heart disease over the next ten years, a little bit more exercise and a little bit more attention to food can really make a big difference. The harsh reality is that what used to work to stay healthy may no longer be effective due to the unavoidable metabolic changes that occur around middle age.
You must adjust since your body is changing.
This can result in a high cholesterol reading—often for the first time in a woman’s life—when a hormone change is accompanied by weight gain.
Women don’t necessarily need to start running marathons or even go completely vegan to counteract cholesterol fluctuations brought on by menopause. Consume a diet low in processed foods and refined carbs and high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, such as the Mediterranean diet, to maintain a healthy heart.
Getting enough sleep and managing stress are two additional (sometimes ignored lifestyle changes) that can benefit cholesterol and overall cardiovascular and metabolic health.
It’s normal to gain weight and experience worse cholesterol, but with the help of the aforementioned advice, you can overcome all these problems.