Women who go through menopause later in life tend to have healthier blood vessels for years compared to those who experience menopause earlier, according to a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder.
The research, published in Circulation Research, helps explain why women who reach menopause at age 55 or later are less likely to have heart attacks and strokes.
These findings, released during Women’s Heart Health Month (February), could lead to new treatments and lifestyle strategies to reduce heart disease risk—the leading cause of death in women.
Why Later Menopause May Be Protective
Heart disease affects nearly half of all women in the U.S. and causes one in five female deaths each year. For most of their lives, women have a lower risk of heart disease than men, but after menopause, their risk rises sharply and eventually overtakes men’s risk.
However, research has found that women who go through menopause later (after 55) are up to 20% less likely to develop heart disease than those who experience it at the usual age (45 to 54).
The CU Boulder team wanted to find out why. They studied 92 women and examined their blood vessels, mitochondria (the energy powerhouses of cells), and the molecules in their bloodstream.
Key Findings
- Blood vessel function declines after menopause, but women who experienced later menopause had significantly better vascular health than those who had menopause earlier.
- Mitochondria functioned better in the late-menopause group, producing fewer harmful free radicals that can damage blood vessels.
- Women in the late-onset menopause group had 44% better vascular function than those in the normal-age menopause group, even five years or more after menopause.
- Blood tests showed that women with later menopause had healthier levels of certain fats and lipids, which may contribute to their improved heart health.
What This Means for Women’s Heart Health
“Our findings show that later menopause provides natural protection for blood vessels, likely because of healthier mitochondria and better blood composition,” said Matthew Rossman, the study’s senior author.
However, more research is needed to fully understand what causes this protection. The research team is now exploring:
- How early-onset menopause (before age 45) affects heart health.
- Whether antioxidant supplements that target mitochondria could help reduce heart disease risk.
One potential treatment is MitoQ, a modified version of Coenzyme Q10, an antioxidant that supports mitochondrial health. A previous study found that MitoQ significantly reversed blood vessel aging in men and women within weeks. A larger clinical trial is now underway.
The Importance of Discussing Menopause and Heart Health
The researchers hope their work will encourage women and their doctors to consider menopause age as an important factor in heart disease risk.
“This research highlights menopause timing as a key factor for women’s heart health,” said Sanna Darvish, the study’s lead author. “We hope it encourages more discussions between women and their doctors about heart disease prevention.”
For women going through early menopause, lifestyle changes, diet, and possibly new medical treatments could help protect their heart health in the future.
If you care about heart disease, please read studies that herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm, and how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk.
For more health information, please see recent studies that apple juice could benefit your heart health, and results showing yogurt may help lower the death risks in heart disease.
The research findings can be found in Circulation Research.
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