Hot flushes, night sweats linked to heart attacks in women

Women who suffer from hot flushes and night sweats after menopause are 70 per cent more likely to have a heart attack, angina or stroke, say researchers, including one of Indian-origin.

The study, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, found women of any age who experience hot flushes and night sweats, also known as vasomotor symptoms or VMS, are more likely to experience non-fatal cardiovascular events.

"This research helps to identify women who are at a higher risk for the development of cardiovascular events and who may need close monitoring in clinical practice," said study senior author Gita Mishra, Professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.

For the findings, the research team used data from InterLACE, a major collaboration of 25 studies of more than 500,000 women around the world.

The findings showed that that the risk of cardiovascular events was more related to the severity of the hot flushes and night sweats rather than the frequency or duration.

The study found that women with severe VMS were more than twice as likely to experience a non-fatal cardiovascular event compared with women who had no symptoms.

"Until now, it's been unclear if VMS is associated with cardiovascular disease, but now we know it to be true," said study lead author Dongshan Zhu from the University of Queensland in Australia.

"Further, VMS before menopause increases a woman's chance of cardiovascular events by 40 per cent," Zhu said.