POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

ATHEROSCLEROTIC RISK FACTORS.

Abstract

Postmenopausal women are more prone to develop cardiac morbidity due to exhaustive production
of estrogens. Postmenopausal women may have 3-4 fold greater risk of atherosclerosis after a natural menopause.
Objectives: To find correlation between biochemical and physical parameters after the onset of menopause and their
effects on disease process in the postmenopausal women. Design: Prospective Study. Setting: PGMI Lahore. Period:
From Jan 2000 to Oct 2000. Material & Methods: 75 subjects were enrolled in this study and divided into three groups
i.e. premenopausal (control), early postmenopausal and late postmenopausal groups. Their physical parameters like
weight, waist to hip ratio (WHR) and blood pressure were taken. Biochemical parameters, like cholesterol, triglycerides,
high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were estimated by
commercial scientific kits. Results: Biochemical parameters were mostly non-significant changed (P > 0.05) while
physical parameters were deviated significantly (P < 0.001) when comparisons were made between mean values of
various study groups. Conclusion: Even at normal values of lipid profile, the postmenopausal women are at risk of
developing atherosclerotic lesions because of hypertension, obesity, exhaustive production of estrogen and android
type of body fat distribution.