The Relationship between Cardiovascular Changes and Menopause in Women Referred to the Health-Care Centers of Ilam University of Medical Sciences, 2003

The most common cause of mortality in women is cardio-vascular disorders (CVD), which are suddenly increased after menopause. In addition to some known risk factors, estrogen deprivation may be related to high incidence of CVD in women. Material

We carried out this descriptive-analytic study on 150 menopaused women selected randomly. Instruments were a questionnaire, record sheet and check list for assessing height, weight and blood pressure. The data was collected through interview and observation and analyzed by inferential statistics.

The results show that the subjects have proper BMI (73.3%) and 5-10 hours of daily activities (49.3%). They don’t exercise (90%), do not smoke (%94.7), consume enough calcium (66.7%) and do no use animal fat (44.7%). The participants suffer from hypertension (37.3%), tachycardia (21.3%), tachypnea (37.3%) and chest pain (%18). The variables such as BMI, age, smoking, body exercise, calcium consumption have not significant effect on angina pectoris, systolic and diastolic pressure (p<0.05) while the use of animal fat and the amount of daily activity are effective (p<0.05).

cardiovascular diseases are common problem in menopaused women and there are some factors, affecting on the intensity of the symptoms that must be considered to keep away from adverse effects, financial difficulties and their negative effect on community. We recommend providing enough information for all women and conducting further extensive researches.