After becoming a founding member of a company that focuses on promoting women’s health, the most rewarding part is that I have become more interested in the health of not only myself, but also of my friends and the women around me, including my daughter, and that I am concerned regarding even minor symptoms. When there are, they are actively changing their thinking and behavior to find solutions.
As I grew older, I also began to sympathize with and understand the health problems that my mother, aunts, seniors and older sisters would have suffered first. Her mother was diagnosed with angina pectoris following menopause and urgently received a stent. Since then, she has been receiving treatment and management related to heart and diabetes. Her maternal grandmother, whom she was more correct than anyone else, following her thigh fractured, she might not move her well for a long time and died with her weak energy.
Although still overlooked by many, women’s risk of cardiovascular disease increases dramatically following menopause. In retrospect, it was a really lucky case for my mother to receive the procedure 30 years ago and to be able to actively prevent and treat cardiovascular disease since then.
The average age of natural menopause among Korean women is 49.9 years. According to the most recent data from the National Statistical Office, the life expectancy of Korean women is 86.5 years, which means that more than a third of life is following menopause. After all, it is no exaggeration to say that women’s preparation for old age begins with health care following menopause. I am also currently going through the menopause transition, and in order to live a healthy life in the future, I need to pay special attention to physical and mental changes.
For post-menopausal health management, it is important to first recognize various symptoms that can appear due to rapid changes in hormone secretion, and to prepare for them as natural changes. Reduced estrogen levels can make it difficult to sleep at night or can lead to depression. Sleeping well requires consciousness, and in my case, it was good to meditate on sleep before bed, read, or drink hot tea without caffeine. In order to alleviate the symptoms of hot flashes, which 80% of postmenopausal women experience, and to prevent osteoporosis, which can lead to fractures, you may consider starting treatment and prevention that is suitable for you following receiving a diagnosis from a specialist. In particular, since the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic syndrome increases rapidly following menopause, regular check-ups and active treatment are essential.
There is a view that if you reach a healthy and comfortable menopause through these efforts, you can enjoy freedom from the discomfort and impatience that you have experienced every month since the average age of 12, physical and psychological changes caused by hormonal changes, and various pains. Life following menopause can be expected. With more thorough preparation, we hope that all of us women can enjoy the third act of the theater of life, life following menopause in a healthy way.
[김소은 한국오가논 대표]
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