Irregular menstrual cycles can lead to higher risk of heart problems

A new study has proven that irregular menstrual cycles can lead to a higher risk of heart problems. Women who have periods longer or shorter than average may be at risk for some heart problems like coronary heart disease, heart attacks, and atrial fibrillation.

Published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the study has found that women whose cycles were outside the typical 22- to 34-day range faced a higher cumulative risk for various heart conditions.

A regular menstrual cycle length- the time from the first day of a period to the first day of the next period- indicates that the hormone systems connecting the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and ovaries are functioning properly, which is an important indicator of overall health. Research shows that about 20 percent of women experience irregular cycle lengths.

Previous studies have pointed toward the link between irregular menstrual cycles and heart disease risk factors such as insulin resistance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Some studies also suggested that hormonal fluctuations in the menstrual cycle put women at a higher risk for arrhythmias, or irregular heartbeats.

However, the association between the characteristics of the menstrual cycle and adverse cardiovascular outcomes is still unclear, said senior author Dr. Huijie Zhang in a news release. Zhang, who is a chief physician and a professor at Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, further said, “Considering the increasing prevalence of heart disease – with 45% of women in Western countries affected – and related mortality, there is a need to explore these risk factors.”

The study conducted on 58,056 women, enrolled in the U.K. Biobank- a large health database in the United Kingdom- investigated whether menstrual cycle length was associated with overall heart disease and specific cardiovascular events. It was observed that women who had not begun menopause and had no cardiovascular disease were on average 46 years old. Health data was collected in follow-up visits from 2006 to 2019.

After almost 11.8 years of research, experts have found that as compared to those with regular-length cycles, women with irregular cycles had a risk of cardiovascular disease as high as 19 percent. This includes coronary heart disease, heart attack, a type of arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation, stroke, and heart failure.

Notably, the risk is even higher in women with a shorter menstrual cycle i.e. 29 percent whereas those with longer cycles were reported to be at a risk of 11 percent. However, the risk differed in each woman considering how shorter or longer the cycle of an individual is. In any way, the length of the menstrual cycle was not associated with the increased risk of stroke or heart failure.

“Our analysis indicates that women with menstrual cycle dysfunction may experience adverse cardiovascular health consequences,” Zhang said.

Meanwhile, the scientists were not able to rule out the impact of menopause on menstrual cycle length and noted that the findings may not be generalizable to younger women. As well as, as the people associated with the study had a white ethnicity, the authors believe that the findings may not be generalizable to women of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Nonetheless, the findings “highlight the importance of monitoring menstrual cycle characteristics throughout a woman’s reproductive life,” said Zhang.