Health Watch is a Public Service of the Office of News and Publications and is intended to provide general information only and should not replace the advice of a medical professional. You should contact your physician if you have questions about any of these topics.
This week on Health Watch, we’re talking about heart disease, the leading cause of death. Women generally have a lower risk for heart disease until they go through menopause. Then their risks increase dramatically. Estrogen plays a big role in protecting women, but now researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that cholesterol may keep estrogen from being beneficial.
Estrogen binds to the heart’s blood vessels, keeping them elastic and open. But there’s a byproduct of cholesterol that binds to the same places on blood vessels, keeping estrogen from helping. When there’s more cholesterol than estrogen in the bloodstream, the cholesterol wins. Dr. David Mangelsdorf, UT Southwestern’s chairman of pharmacology, says this could explain why hormone replacement therapy doesn’t protect some women against heart disease. Once cholesterol has done its damage, estrogen can’t help.
###
November 2007
Health Watch is heard Monday through Friday nationwide on ABC Satellite Radio. Call your local radio station and ask if they carry the program.
