Heart News
New guidelines on exercise for people with inherited heart condition
��ercise is beneficial and safe for people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but regular monitoring is needed
The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology have released new guidelines clarifying how people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ( HCM ) can safely exercise . According to the novel recommendations , some people with the condition can play sports safely even at elite levels if they are properly monitored , which includes an annual careful check-up .
HCM is a genetic condition that causes the heart to thicken , impairing its function and leading to breathlessness and chest pain . For people with HCM , the yearly risk of having a cardiac arrest is slightly lower than one percent , and this rate doesn ’ t seem to be in�uenced by exercise , Dr Steven Ommen , medical director of the Mayo Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Clinic and leading member of the committee that wrote the guidelines , said in a press release .
“ Our goal for our patients with HCM is they ’ d be able to achieve the same physical activity recommendations as the rest of us ,” Dr Ommen said . The standard advice is to do at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise , 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic exercise , or a combination of both .
However , in the past many doctors and people with the condition mistakenly believed that “ patients with HCM shouldn ’ t exercise vigorously ” due to early data suggesting they were at risk of sudden death . By contrast , recent evidence shows that less than 10 percent of sudden cardiac deaths in young individuals are due to HCM , while death risk in athletes isn ’ t significantly higher than in the rest of the population .
Early menopause increases heart disease death risk
�omen who stop menstruating before �� are at ris� of dying at an early age
W
omen who experience menopause before turning 40 are twice as likely to die from heart disease at a young age as their peers who enter menopause later in life .
Researchers from Finland compared the health records of 5,800 women who stopped menstruating before 40 spontaneously or due to surgery with those of 23,000 women who didn ’ t have an early menopause , also known as primary ovarian insufficiency ( POI ). The results show that the former have twice the risk of dying from heart disease and four times the risk of dying from cancer at a young age compared to the latter .
Though previous research had already suggested there was a link between early menopause and death risk , the new analysis is the first large study that includes data on menopause caused by surgical treatment .
“ To our knowledge , this is the largest study performed on the linkage between premature ovarian insufficiency and mortality risk ,” explained Hilla Haapakoski , the study ’ s lead author and a Ph� student at the �niversity of Oulu , in a press statement .
Menstruation is a natural process where women stop having periods . In most cases , it occurs between 45 and 55 years of age and involves reduced production of hormones like oestrogen and progesterone , which regulate reproductive functions . In some cases , menopausal women are prescribed hormone replacement therapy to make up for low levels of progesterone and oestrogen .
“ Various health risks of women with premature ovarian insufficiency have not been well recognised and the use of [ hormone replacement therapy ] is often neglected ,” said Haapakoski . “ We hope to improve the health of these women by increasing awareness of the risks among healthcare professionals and the women themselves .”
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