Hot flashes, a common and annoying rite of passage for many women entering menopause, may truly be something to sweat over.
Long seen as a nuisance, an unavoidable quality-of-life issue, hot flashes have been linked to insomnia, irritability and depressed mood, not to mention soaking bedsheets. But now there’s increasing evidence that hot flashes may have medical implications as well.
The habitual flushing and perspiration many women have come to dread may actually be a harbinger – a warning – of heart disease.
A series of studies has helped put some – but not all – of the pieces together on this puzzling physiological phenomenon.