The good news about menopausal hot flashes

Anyone who has ever had a severe hot flash, especially in public, probably has trouble believing there is any upside at all to these legendary and incapacitating waves of heat that strike a woman during one of her most vulnerable times: menopause. But there is good news! So believe it!

More specifically, researchers have found a correlation between women who experience hot flashes in early menopause and certain health benefits. This is in comparison, however, to women who have hot flashes in late menopause and to women who avoid hot flashes all together.

What's the good news?

One study has found these early hot flashes that do not last the entirety of menopause to be linked with lower risk of heart attack and death. It was found that women who experienced hot flashes in the later phases of menopause may be at a higher risk for heart attack.

Also, research has found a relationship between hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms and a lower risk of breast cancer. This applied to all women between the ages of 55 and 74 regardless of the timing of the symptoms. Though it has not been proven, it is suspected that the reasoning may have something to do with estrogen levels, as women experiencing menopausal symptoms tend to have lower levels of estrogen.

So, I should start jumping for joy with each hot flash?

This information is fairly new, and the study reported by the Journal of Menopause was unable to explain why the relationship between hot flashes and lower risk of heart complications and death actually exists. They only saw that there is a relationship which suggests there needs to be more research conducted. And these health benefits were only detected in women who experienced their hot flashes very early and then had none later on. They did not find this relationship in subjects who experienced hot flashes during later stages of menopause or not at all. Even though hot flashes are not well understood, they are thought to be the result of hormone fluctuations triggering the dilation of blood vessels, which could be linked to the heart.

More Information about Hot Flashes

Talk with your doctor about the newest literature available about the correlation between menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and the risk of cancer and heart problems. This information could help you make a decision about the risks and rewards of using hormone replacement therapy and forms of treatment for hot flashes.

To learn more about Hot Flashes