Perimenopause Tied to Sharper Drop in Heart-Health Scores, AHA Study Finds

Overview

• A peer-reviewed analysis in the Journal of the American Heart Association found that women in perimenopause were more likely to have low overall cardiovascular health than those before menopause.
• Researchers used the Life’s Essential 8 score, a 0–100 measure that sums diet, exercise, sleep, and tobacco use with blood pressure, cholesterol, body weight, and blood sugar.
• Median scores fell across reproductive stages, from 73.3 before menopause to 69.1 in perimenopause and 63.9 after menopause, with diet scoring lowest and sleep duration staying high.
• After accounting for age, perimenopausal women had about double the odds of a low overall score and higher odds of poor cholesterol and blood sugar profiles compared with premenopausal women.
• Clinicians urged earlier checks for blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes during this transition, while authors noted limits such as self-reported menstrual status and a small perimenopausal sample and plan to follow women over time.