The risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) increase during the menopausal stage of women, according to the Philippine Heart Association (PHA).

In an online media forum, Dr. Aileen Cynthia de Lara, immediate past chair of the PHA Council on Cardiovascular Health, urged women nearing the menopausal stage to seek medical checkups.

"Prevention is the key, so why wait until you're menopausal before you get checked? We get a lot of patients that feel cardiac-related symptoms but it is actually a perimenopausal period," de Lara said.

"This is the time to do all the lab tests work, give them advice on diet, so that when they enter menopause, they are prepared. There's always some resistance, but you need to explain that these are stages that they need to go through," she added.

Dr. Josephine Almaria, an ob-gyne from Cardinal Santos Medical Center, also echoed de Lara's statement.

"You don't have to feel something to go to your doctor. We want to empower people to be preventive and proactive," Almaria said.

"As for doctors, we should not be complacent, we need to educate them on things like when they approach menopause. We need to make each visit preemptive for them," she added.

Risk for osteoporosis, stroke

According to Almaria, cardiovascular diseases increase at 40 years old, thus overall health tests have to be done like blood chemistry and thyroid.

She also noted that estrogen and progesterone levels start to fluctuate at that age so trips to ob-gynes should be a must.

"The risk for osteoporosis and stroke, metabolic syndrome all go up. Nakita rin natin tumataas ang [blood pressure] and blood sugar. Nanganganib ang sakit sa puso when hitting menopause kasi tumitigas ang mga ugat pagtanda; ang flexibility ay bumababa (The risk for osteoporosis and stroke, metabolic syndrome all go up. We have also seen blood pressure and blood sugar increase. There's a risk of heart disease when hitting menopause because the veins harden with age; the flexibility decreases)," Almaria explained.

"Nakikita rin natin na dahil tumataas ang presyon may higher risk na magbara sa ugat. Hindi malilinis nang maigi ang bad cholesterol sa ugat. Nag-iiba talaga risk ng babae kapag nag-menopause (We also see that because the pressure increases, there is a higher risk of blockage in the vein. The bad cholesterol in the vein cannot be cleaned thoroughly. Women's risk is really different when they go through menopause)," she added.

To counter the risks, De Lara suggested the 52100 advocacy, which is consuming five fruits and vegetables and two grams of sodium as well as doing one hour of exercise daily.

She also suggested that women undergo an electrocardiogram to see the heart's status, as well as laboratory tests for lipid profiles.

"Diet isn't the only risk factor to control; while it is great that you live healthily, you need to get checked pa rin. Baka may namana kayo sa family na hindi maganda. Even with diet and exercise, you should still see your doctor (Maybe you inherited something from your family that is not good. Even with diet and exercise, you should still see your doctor."