This is a fairly large scale undertaking, unlike many pieces of research which feature numbers only in double figures, these researchers evaluated 14 years of follow-up data from the U.S. Nurses’ Health Study .  Their new research involved nearly 70,000 women who reported their food intake every four years and included details on how much fruit and vegetable they ate.

Total flavonoid intake did not reduce stroke risk, but intake of flavanones did, the researchers said. Women who ate the most flavanones had a 19 percent lower risk of blood-clot related stroke than those who ate the least. With the main benefit coming from oranges and grapefruit

Study leader Aedin Cassidy, who is Head of Nutrition at Norwich, commented that women wanting to reduce the risk of ischemic [blood clot-related] stroke, need to eat more whole fruit, but not juice because the fruit contains more flavanones and no added sugar.

On just why flavones are so helpful, the researchers speculate that it’s possible that the flavanones in citrus fruit improve blood vessel function or reduce inflammation, both of which have been linked with stroke risk.

It has been previously shown that women who have an early menopause are at greater risk of heart disease and to read more about there go here

Summary

As women actually have a higher incidence of strokes than men do, particularly if they have an early or enforced menopause due to hysterectomy, it is important to take preventive action, particularly if you have any family history of heart disease.

Having good levels of progesterone will reduce that risk due to its preventive action, and you can improve your chances further by eating more oranges and grapefruit

Also the research clearly indicated that women who ate the most flavonoids also had a healthier lifestyle than those who had the greatest risks.  They smoked less, exercised more and consumed less caffeine and alcohol than the highest risk group.

But, if you are really not a fruit or veg person then take heart because as well as being present in fruit and vegetables, flavonoids (the group name of which flavones are one subclass) are also found in red wine and dark chocolate.

HRT is often suggested as being protective against heart disease, because of the oestrogen component but declining levels of oestrogen do not tell the whole story.   Men and women do not necessarily have the same type of heart disease. Men tend to suffer from heart attacks because their coronary arteries become blocked and narrowed due to a variety of factors of which high levels of cholesterol in he diet is an important one.  Over the years, the lumen on the artery can become so narrowed with deposits that not enough blood can pass to the heart muscle and a heart attack occurs.

There will often have been warnings that this may happen.  When a man exercises, the heart needs more blood; there will be a time when there is enough blood going through when resting but not when exercising.  The result will be the man will experience pain when exercising, and if sensible will pay attention to it.

In post-menopausal women however, although we can have narrowing of the arteries and a build-up of deposits, it is much more common for the cause of the hart attack to be spasm of the coronary arteries.  For this type of hear disease – which affects the majority of women – then oestrogen in the form of HRT will not protect you.  Research has been done which suggests that HRT may in fact aggravate coronary artery spasm, where bioidentical natural progesterone will relieve it.   If your heart disease is not due to spasm, like the majority of women, but to narrowing of the arteries then oestrogen has been shown to have an effect in preventing the build up of  deposits and paying attention to lowering cholesterol levels is also important.

Summary:

Research over fifteen years ago showed that progesterone is effective in relaxing coronary arteries which have gone into spasm, and that excess oestrogen can in fact cause spasm.  As most menopausal women’s heart attacks are due to heart spasm this is obviously an important factor in demonstrating the protective role of progesterone in preventing potentially fatal heart attacks.

There are many more factors involved in being prone to a heart attack than a lack of oestrogen.  Factors that predispose us to heart attacks include weight problems, having high cholesterol levels and lack of exercise as well as increasing age itself so paying attention to maintaining all-round good health is the first step in minimizing any potential heart attack risk

You may also be interested in reading the following article:

http://www.bio-hormone-health.com/2010/07/22/early-menopause-can-double-heart-attack-risk/

Now new research from Queen Mary, University of London sheds light on why women are far more likely to suffer heart attacks after the menopause. It can be traced to our declining estrogen levels, because estrogen keeps the body’s immune system in check. After menopause – when estrogen levels drop dramatically – coronary heart disease rates rise steeply. The study has shown that estrogen works on white blood cells to stop them from sticking to the insides of blood vessels, a process which can lead to dangerous blockages.

The results could help explain why cardiovascular disease rates tend to be higher in men and why they soar in women after the menopause. It’s not yet clear quite how this protection occurs but this study suggests that estrogen has another role. The hormone seems to affect women’s response to infection and injury, by preventing white blood cells from moving out of the blood stream into tissues. This reduces inflammation, part of the immune system’s rapid response. It is now clear that one of the functions that estrogen has in the body is to help stop blood cells sticking to artery walls and forming potentially fatal blockages.

The researchers compared white blood cells from men and pre-menopausal women blood donors. They found that cells from premenopausal women have much higher levels of protein called annexin-A1 on the surface of their white blood cells. The scientists also found that annexin-A1 and estrogen levels were strongly linked throughout the menstrual cycle.

White blood cells play a vital role in protecting the body from infections. When they are activated they stick to the walls of blood vessels. This process normally helps the cells to tackle infection but if it happens too much, it can lead to blood vessel damage, which in turn can lead to cardiovascular disease. However, when annexin-A1 is on the surface of these white blood cells it prevents them from sticking to the blood vessel wall. A key finding of the new research is that estrogen can move annexin-A1 from inside the white blood cell, where it is normally stored, to the surface of the cells preventing the cells from sticking to blood vessel walls and causing vascular damage.

Until recently, experts have struggled to explain why younger women are less likely to develop heart disease and suffer heart attacks. Dr Suchita Nadkarni from the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary, University of London, who led the research, said: “We’ve known for a long time that estrogen protects pre-menopausal women from heart disease, but we don’t know exactly why. This study brings us a step closer to understanding how natural estrogen might help protect our blood vessels. We’ve shown a clear relationship between estrogen levels and the behaviour of these white blood cells. Our results suggest that estrogen helps maintain the delicate balance between fighting infections, and protecting arteries from damage that can lead to cardiovascular disease. Understanding how the body fights heart disease naturally is vital for developing new treatments.”

Estrogen often gets a bad press because of its link to certain cancers and other health problems, but it is when it is out of balance that problems occur. That’s why some women at menopause do need a little extra estrogen as well as natural progesterone: John Lee made it clear that is the balance between the two hormones that it is important to get right.