Bones and heart after menopause

Oestrogen does more than run your periods. It also protects your bones and blood vessels. After menopause bones lose density faster and the risk of heart and circulation disease goes up. None of this can be felt as it happens, so the time to act is before there are any symptoms.

Osteoporosis means weakened bones, and the first sign is often a fracture after a minor fall. To look after your bones:

• walk, dance, climb stairs and do light strength exercises
• keep calcium in your diet: dairy, leafy greens, fish with soft edible bones
• ask a doctor about vitamin D
• stop smoking and limit alcohol
• make falls less likely at home, with better lighting and no slippery rugs

Early menopause, a parent with a hip fracture or long-term steroid use all raise the risk. In those cases a doctor may suggest a bone density scan.

Heart disease is not just a man's problem. In these years, have your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar checked regularly. The best foundation is plenty of vegetables, fruit, pulses and fish, less salt, daily movement, no smoking and good sleep.

A heart attack in a woman does not always begin with the crushing chest pain you see in films. It can also show up as breathlessness, nausea, cold sweat, pain spreading to the back, jaw or arm, or sudden extreme weakness. If that happens, do not wait to see if it passes.