Menopause, the relationship between hot flashes and muscle well-being

Of course, in any case, when we grow the muscle grows with us, until it reaches its maximum peak around 30 years, after which it slowly begins to decrease. From the age of 70 onwards, about 15% of muscle mass is lost every 10 years. And in any case, over time, muscle strength and physical performance begin to decline around the age of 45-50. Over the age of 75 it is also possible that muscle strength is reduced by 60% and that physical function is up to 30% lower than in younger people.

Obviously careful nutrition, which does not penalize too much protein intake, and above all regular movement (to be proposed based on age and conditions) are the tools to obtain the best results in terms of prevention.

In women, then, we must not forget the importance of hormonal changes which are registered with the term of fertile age and precisely on this aspect the experts of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the College of Medicine of the University of Korea in Seoul concentrated, who published the results of their analyzes in the scientific journal Menopause. The survey looked at just under 300 women between the ages of 40 and 65, evaluating the association between body composition, including fat and muscle, with hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. Well, when the muscles are more “fragile” it seems that hot flashes are less intense and above all less frequent.

It should also be noted that progressively, with advancing age, women with muscle weakness tend to have several more risks, especially in terms of range of motion, danger of falls and other conditions. It must also be said that the fight against overweight and the control of body weight are key strategies to control the situation: excesses of adipose tissue can obviously worsen the general well-being of the woman.

Flushing, night sweat and heart risk

Some time ago, sudden streams of heat and redness rising to the chest and face were also correlated with an increased risk of heart disease in women. According to research that appeared on American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology and coordinated by Dongshan Zhu and Gita Mishra, the women presenting intense hot flashes and night sweats, two of the most common disorders during the menopausal period, would have an increased risk of up to 70 percent of suffering from angina attacks, heart attacks and even cerebral strokes.

The vasomotor symptoms of menopause, therefore, represent an element to be defined well with your gynecologist, as well as night sweats which, without any justification linked to the environmental temperature, appear suddenly to disturb the rest. Still according to the study, the real problem would not be the frequency of these disturbances, but rather their intensity. The data comes from an analysis that examined what was found in over half a million women followed in 25 different studies around the world.