Yes, anxiety can be a component of midlife. Women are ten times more likely to experience mood difficulties (anxiety, depression, irritability) in the perimenopause to menopause transition time.

And you’re right that emotional health certainly influences sexual health (not to mention overall wellness).

There are a variety of ways to address this, through lifestyle modifications, counseling or therapy, or even medications. Your own doctor can provide more specific advice on this, but rest assured you’re not alone in confronting this symptom.

Dr. Barb

It is true that women have an increased risk of heart disease after menopause, and decreased estrogen levels can bring on changes in your cholesterol profile. Often harder to keep the HDLs up and the LDLs down. Premenopausal women have a lower risk of heart disease. Having been pregnant or not does not influence the risk of developing heart disease.

Women need to address lifestyle more intentionally in midlife and beyond, exercise becomes increasingly important for influencing that good and bad cholesterol favorably, and don’t forget about diet.

There’s a very good resource that NIH has put together called the Red Dress campaign, to help women understand heart disease better. Check it out here: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/.

Dr. Barb

Like Reesa, I worry about my heart health. When I turned 40, my cholesterol levels shot up and the LDLs went down. I have brought this up to my doctor and she seems clueless about the relationship between women’s heart health and menopause, but I’m sure I have read that there is a correlation, especially if the woman has not had children.

Is there any truth to this?

Personally, I’m hanging on every word . . . my experience is that my sexual feelings shut off like a light-switch at age forty. Now I’m in the position of thinking about sex in the abstract: I want to want to have sex . . . or not . . . whatever.