Hot flashes, sleepless nights and vaginal dryness often get brushed off as part of aging, but these uncomfortable menopause symptoms shouldn't be ignored. Aside from negatively impacting your daily life, leaving them untreated could lead to serious consequences down the road.
"Menopause symptoms should not be viewed as something women simply have to tolerate," says Lucky Sekhon, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist. "If symptoms are affecting your quality of life, sleep, mood, work performance, relationships or overall well-being, it's worth discussing them with a health care provider." In the years leading up to and following menopause, doctors recommend seeking medical attention for these seemingly "normal" symptoms.
Hot Flashes & Night Sweats
Vasomotor symptoms, including hot flashes and night sweats, impact up to 80% of women. Because of how common these side effects are, many women try to ignore them, hoping they resolve on their own. "While many people think of these as merely uncomfortable, persistent symptoms, they're associated with disrupted sleep, increased stress and reduced quality of life, and they may also be linked to adverse cardiovascular health markers," says Sekhon.
Researchers analyzed symptoms and outcomes of over 23,000 women and found that those with severe hot flashes and night sweats had roughly double the risk of cardiovascular disease than women who did not experience them, increasing the likelihood from about 1 in 100 people to about 2 in 100 people. Another 22-year study found that women who experience more frequent vasomotor symptoms of menopause had an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke and heart failure.
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