Call for women to receive menopause checks at 40
Women should receive “menopause checks” at 40, MPs have said as experts have highlighted the risk of women developing heart problems during the menopausal period.
MPs have called for menopause to be included in the NHS’s mid-life MOT test – a health check offered every five years to people aged 40 to 74.
The Menopause All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) said a large number of women over the age of 40 attend GP surgeries with menopausal symptoms but are unaware that they are experiencing menopause or perimenopause.
And doctors can often fail to recognise the symptoms too, the MPs said.
They called for discussion and diagnosis to be incorporated into the NHS Health Check for women over 40.
It comes as a new document highlights that women going through the menopause are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), also known as heart and circulatory problems.
This is, in part, due to changes in a woman’s muscle composition and metabolism, and menopause symptoms such as particularly hot flushes, sleep disturbances and depression, researchers from the UC San Diego School of Medicine said.
The document, published by the International Menopause Society, also states that there are other “reproductive milestones” linked to an increased risk of CVD among women including period problems and difficulties during pregnancy.
High blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy or menopause, and experiencing premature menopause – before age 40 – have also all been recognised in the paper as CVD risk factors.
Professor Nick Panay, president of the International Menopause Society, said: “There is compelling and emerging evidence that the cardiovascular health of women at midlife and beyond reflects reproductive events over their lifespan.
“This includes issues related to the menstrual cycle, complications during pregnancy and the effects of natural and premature menopause.
“During midlife, there is a great opportunity for most women, with the support of their healthcare providers, to improve their cardiovascular health and their future quality of life through healthy lifestyle choices such as following a well-balanced diet, exercising, stopping smoking and moderating alcohol consumption.”