Menopause signals cessation of ovulation and menstruation. A woman needs to realize that the disappearance of those once regular events takes place in tandem with other physiological occurrences. The menopausal woman has less estrogen coursing through her bloodstream. Unless that woman in menopause chooses to act decisively, she could suffer from serious heart and circulatory problems.
When the bloodstream of a woman contains less estrogen, then her arteries demonstrate a decreased exposure to the chemical that had allowed those same arteries to remain pliant. As a result, a woman in menopause faces an increased risk for clotting. In addition, her blood has a diminished amount of high density lipoproteins (the “good” cholesterol).
Those changes within the circulatory system of the menopausal woman do not represent the only alteration to her body physiology. Menopause increases the speed at which an ongoing process progresses-- the physiological process that is associated with bone loss.
Once a woman has entered the stage of menopause, then her bone loss takes place 2 to 5% faster than it had in the past.
If a menopausal woman does not pursue aggressive action, her bone loss and the changes in her circulatory system could put her health at risk. She does not, however, need to down a handful of pills on a daily basis. She does need to engage in regular exercise. In that way, she can strengthen her blood vessels, her heart and her bones.
Exercise can serve as a treatment for two of the most serious consequences of menopause. Yet exercise can not help a woman to deal with every discomfort. Possible treatments for those additional discomforts will be the focus of future blog articles.