Global study to explore how menopause shapes heart health

A global menopause heart health study has won US$10m to launch the largest trial to detect silent artery changes and test earlier prevention.

The SHE-HEALS study, led by BHF Professor Ziad Mallat at the University of Cambridge and Professor Martha Hickey at the University of Melbourne, will track arterial changes starting in perimenopause that drive rising heart disease risk.

The team will also assess how age at menopause affects risk, and whether taking HRT influences that risk.

Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Today the devastating reality is that too many women still die from heart disease because they have been under-diagnosed and under-treated.

“We’ve known for a long time that menopause affects women’s heart health but the details we need to detect problems sooner and treat women more effectively have remained a mystery.”

Researchers say current guidelines miss a vital window for earlier prevention.

They will run what they describe as the largest trial of its kind to detect silent atherosclerosis (hidden hardening of the arteries) in women in perimenopause and shortly afterwards.

By spotting early disease before symptoms appear, the study will test whether earlier prevention, including tackling high blood pressure and cholesterol, can stop or even reverse atherosclerosis progression.

The SHE-HEALS team hope the evidence will shape global guidelines and enable earlier, more effective prevention to protect women’s hearts for longer.

Griffiths said: “The SHE-HEALS project promises to provide the missing insights we urgently need, as well as revealing vital new therapies that could halt or even reverse cardiovascular disease in women.

“Ultimately, we want to ensure all grandmas, mums, and sisters have healthier hearts for longer and get more time with their loved ones.

“And I’m delighted that the BHF is playing its part in a brilliant global network determined to do just that.”