Removing your ovaries may be bad for your heart
Thousands of hysterectomies are carried out every year. Most of them are done in middle-aged women. Conventional wisdom has always dictated that the ovaries be removed at the same time to remove the risk of ovarian cancer. That is until now.
Recent findings about ovaries and hysterectomies
Research has shown that women who have their ovaries taken out during a hysterectomy are more likely to develop heart disease and to die from it, and more likely to develop lung cancer. On the other hand, they have virtually no risk of developing ovarian cancer and a lower risk of getting breast cancer.
What does this mean for you?
Over 400,000 women every year die of heart disease and stroke combined in the US. This compares with about 14,000 women who die from ovarian cancer each year. While ovarian cancer is a horrible disease, women are actually more at risk of developing heart disease in their lifetime.
What many doctors are starting to recommend is that, if hysterectomy is carried out for any problem apart from cancer and if you are not at high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer, that the ovaries be left behind. This means that the hormones that the ovary produces even after menopause can continue to have a beneficial effect on conditions like heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia.
As with any other decision you take about your health, discuss all you options with your doctor.
Exercise boosts “good” cholesterol
If you’re not exercising already, here’s another good reason to do so. According to a report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, a review of previously-published studies showed that aerobic exercise (the kind that gets your heart pumping fast) can help increase the levels of “good” (HDL) cholesterol in your body. The increase was greatest in people who were obese and those with high cholesterol.
Unfortunately a couple of jumping jacks are not going to do the trick! Apparently, you need to exercise for at least 30 minutes at a go and for a total of 2 hours a week to get the full benefits.
What kind of exercises should I do?
Some examples:
- walking
- jogging
- skipping (jumping rope)
- swimming
- cycling
The good news is that:
- the intensity of the exercise was less important than the duration, i.e. you can exercise gently and still enjoy the benefits, and
- you don’t have to go on any special diet (though you are watching what you eat already, right?)
Why the fuss about HDL?
HDL has a protective effect on the heart and blood vessels. Higher levels of HDL decrease your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (heart disease, strokes e.t.c.). When you combine this with other lifestyle changes it can make a big difference.
There a drugs that can raise you HDL levels much higher than aerobic exercise, but if you’re looking for drug-free options, this may be the way to go.
Types of Heart disease
What is Heart Disease?
Heart disease is a broad term which people use loosely to describe a number of conditions that affect the heart and blood vessels. A more accurate term to use would be “cardiovascular disease” but it’s a bit of a mouthful if you’re not used to medical terms. Cardiovascular disease refers to a collection of conditions which affect the heart (cardio-) and blood vessels (vascular).
The heart is made up of:
- muscle which pumps blood
- valves which keep the blood moving forward
- arteries which supply oxygen and food to the heart muscle
- the pericardium, the outer sac which surrounds the heart
Problems may arise from any of these structures.
Coronary artery disease
This is among the best known forms of cardiovascular disease. It is a condition in which the blood vessels that supply oxygen and food to the heart become blocked and the heart muscle cannot function properly. This eventually leads to a “heart attack” when there is death of the heart muscle.
The most common cause of blockage of the arteries is artherosclerosis, a condition where fat is laid down on the artery walls gradually causing narrowing until blood can’t pass through it anymore. Coronary artery disease eventually leads to coronary heart disease which refers to a condition where disease of the coronary arteries has led to heart symptoms such as chest pain or a heart attack (myocardial infarction).
Cardiomyopathy
This means that the heart muscle itself is damaged. This can be due to a heart attack for example.
Valvular disease
This affects the valves in the heart and can be due to narrowing or inability of the valves to close properly leading to blood leaking backwards. The strain that is put on the heart muscle eventually leads to cardiomyopathy.
Pericardial disease
This affects the outer coat of the heart
Congenital heart disease
These are heart conditions that you are born with.
Heart failure (Congestive cardiac failure)
This is a condition in which the heart can’t pump blood effectively around the body. As a result, organs in the body can’t get enough oxygen and nutrients. This can lead to build up of fluid in the tissues when it is then known as congestive cardiac (heart) failure.
Heart failure can be caused by conditions that damage the heart muscles e.g high blood pressure.
Vascular diseases
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Here the force of the blood moving round in the blood vessels is very high. It can lead to damage of the blood vessels resulting in bleeding e.g. into the brain (leading to a stroke) and the nose leading to a nose bleed.
Ateriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to hardening and thickening of the walls of the arteries. As the artery can’t expand, it reduces the amount of blood it can carry around the body. This is a natural part of the aging process. However, the commonest type of arteriosclerosis is artherosclerosis where hardening of the arteries is caused by fat being laid down on the walls of the arteries.
Stroke
This is when the brain can’t function properly as a result of death of the brain cells. Strokes can be hemorrhagic (from bleeding into the brain) or ischemic (from blood supply to the brain cells being cut off e.g. in atherosclerosis).
Varicose veins
Varicose veins are swollen, twisted veins which occur most commonly in the legs. They arise from damage to the valves in the veins which are supposed to stop blood from flowing backwards. When these valves don’t close properly, it leads to accumulation of blood in the veins making them become enlarged and twisted. Apart from causing varicose veins, incompetent valves and pooling of blood in the arms or legs can also lead to skin ulcers (wounds) and swelling of the legs.
Venous thrombosis
A thrombus is a blood clot. Venous thrombosis happens when a blood clot is formed in the veins, usually in the legs. When part of a blood clot breaks off and moves to another part of the body, it is known as an embolus. It may go on to become stuck in the smaller blood vessels of the lungs (leading to pulmonary embolism) or the brain (leading to a stroke).
With this quick over-view of cardiovascular disease, I hope you will find it less confusing.