Although there is a wide range of possible menopause-related conditions, most women going through natural menopause have mild disturbances during the perimenopausal years. However, you should be aware that there are at least two major conditions that can develop as the hormones in your body change: coronary artery disease and osteoporosis.

Up until menopause, estrogen has helped keep your blood vessels stable and open and your arteries free of plaque build-up. Estrogen helps raise HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), which helps remove LDL-cholesterol (the type that contributes to the accumulation of fat deposits called plaque along artery walls). After menopause, your risk for developing coronary artery disease (CAD) ‹ a condition in which the veins and arteries that take blood to the heart become narrowed or blocked by plaque ‹ increases steadily. Heart attack and stroke are caused by atherosclerotic disease, in most cases.

Also, estrogen helps prevent bone loss and works together with calcium and other hormones and minerals to help build bones. Your body constantly builds and remodels bone through a process called resorption and deposition. Up until around age 30, the body makes more new bone than it breaks down. But, once estrogen levels start to decline, this process also slows down. By menopause, your body breaks down more bone than it rebuilds. In the years immediately after menopause, some women risk losing as much as 20 percent of their bone mass. Although bone loss eventually levels out in your late 50s, in the years ahead, your body will need help to keep bone structures strong and healthy and to prevent osteoporosis. Osteoporosis occurs when bones become too weak and brittle to support normal activities.

Not all women develop heart disease or osteoporosis. Many more things affect your heart and your bones than estrogen alone. For example, exercise improves your cardiovascular system ‹ your heart, lungs, and blood vessels ‹ at any age. It can help decrease high blood pressure, a concern for one out of every three women over age 60. It can also help reduce weight gain, a major risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, and many other health conditions common to older women. You are never too old to begin or continue exercising. A simple walking routine five days a week can provide health benefits. There are other exercise options. Talk to your healthcare professional about which ones fit your lifestyle and medical needs.

If your bones are strong and healthy as you enter menopause, you¹ll have better bone structure to sustain you as you age. Bone loss is variable from woman to woman. You can also improve bone strength as you age by exercising regularly and making sure you get enough calcium in your diet or from supplements. Exercise also helps improve balance, muscle tone, and flexibility, which can be casualties of aging. Weakness in these areas can lead to more frequent falls, broken bones, and longer healing periods.

Women today can expect to live as much as one-third of their lives beyond menopause. In the next decade, more women than ever before ‹ as many as 52 million ‹ will be age 50 or older. And they can be healthy years, depending on how you take care of yourself.