Postmenopausal women experience an increase in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk due to ageing, decreased physical activity and increased body weight. This risk is further increased due to hormonal changes in menopause that may lead to elevated blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and poor blood vessel function. Worryingly, this increased cardiovascular risk can shorten a woman's lifespan.
Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Engineering and the Faculty of Medicine, Health, and Life Sciences at Swansea University are actively collaborating with other Welsh Universities and Health Boards to investigate ways to mitigate the risk of cardiovascular disease in women going through the menopause.
Women's health is an active research theme across Swansea University’s Interdisciplinary Research Institutes, facilitating a broad research group comprised of scientists and clinicians in fields including lifestyle, data and social sciences, medicine, engineering, and public health.
This Swansea University interdisciplinary research group has a clear focus in exploring ways to mitigate cardiovascular disease risk in women going through the menopause.
This will be achieved by a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including systematic reviews and meta-analyses, cohort studies, randomised controlled trials and qualitative interviews and focus groups.
A recent study from the group explored the interplay between lifestyle factors and cardiovascular health of postmenopausal women to identify the most beneficial physical exercise amounts for mitigating cardiometabolic risk– the conclusions of which were discussed at a UK All Party Parliamentary Group meeting on the impact of adjunct therapies on the menopause (14th Nov 2023).
In a broader context, the group aims to determine which cardiometabolic factors impact on CVD risk in postmenopausal women and by exploring the physiological mechanisms through which, for example, lifestyle interventions might influence their cardiovascular health. The group is also assessing the economic benefits of lifestyle interventions in terms of healthcare costs and improved quality of life.
