Serial Studies in Subclinical Atherosclerosis During Menopausal Transition (from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation).

ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular disease risk increases in women after the menopausal transition; why this inflection point occurs remains uncertain. We aimed to characterize the influence of menopause on vascular aging by prospective assessment of change in indexes of subclinical atherosclerosis across the menopausal transition. We evaluated 411 healthy women from SWAN Heart, an ancillary study of SWAN (Study of Women's Health Across the Nation), for subclinical atherosclerosis at baseline and again after an average of 2.3 years. Carotid intima-media thickness and aortic pulse wave velocity were measured by ultrasound. Coronary artery calcium scores were obtained by computed tomography. Women were grouped by menopausal status as premenopausal, postmenopausal, or having undergone the transition during follo

SUBMITTER: Khan ZA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6345556 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature