One of the most important things that women need to learn in their early youth is that all health systems are attached to each other in a complicated network. This is particularly true since women’s conditions including polycystic ovarian syndrome lead to conditions such as diabetes and heart diseases. When seeking out the services of a cardiologist, paying a visit to your gynecologist in advance greatly helps for a more holistic picture of your health. In this guide, we explore your heart, kidney and reproductive functions as three main domains of your health that you have to get routinely checked and take care of for a healthier, more active life.
Understanding Your Heart
Your heart is among the most vital organs in your body, and research increasingly illuminates that it is closely connected to your hormonal system. This is what makes it vital for women to take care of their cardiovascular health, since that allows for an opportunity to intervene at the prospect of heart disease.
So how exactly is the endocrine system connected to your hormones? Hormones such as cortisol, thyroid, insulin, estrogen and progesterone all coordinate to balance bodily functions. Cortisol, also known as the stress or adrenaline hormone, is essential for survival and regulating flight and fight responses - imbalances have the greatest impact on cardiovascular health. Imbalances in cortisol cause serious chronic stress, which leads to atherosclerosis, clogging your arteries and causing heart disease. The next most pertinent issue is insulin resistance, caused by gynecological conditions such as PCOS. Many women with PCOS are at higher-risk of type 2 diabetes, which is a direct gateway to serious heart disease.
Further, the metabolic system, controlled by thyroxine, (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) is extremely important to care for as well. Hyperthyroidism, in particular, where the thyroid hormones are secreted in excessive levels, places a strain on the heart. High TSH directly increases cholesterol, which plugs arteries and can cause arrythmia and other heart issues. Similarly, balances in sex hormones such as estrogen are important since they have cardio-protective (anti-inflammatory) functions, and testosterone which reduces oxidative stress, effectively preventing obesity and metabolic syndrome. Since endocrinology and cardiology have a symbiotic relationship, it is extremely important to see the gynecologist frequently and keep in consultation with other doctors as well.
Urology and Endocrinology – a Symbiotic Relationship
Dubai urologists are well-equipped to assist you in curating a holistic and comprehensive health plan in collaboration with your gynecologist. Urology is also closely connected to gynecology, where the impairment of kidney functions requires doctors from both specialties. For example, incontinence, bladder issues, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and pelvic organ prolapse are both gynecological and urological issues. In fact, urogynecologists assist women with kidney-related issues that commonly arise post childbirth.
Urogynecologists help surgically and non-surgically treat kidney issues in women. In the renal system, some byproducts in the urine may cause serious kidney stones, which get stuck in the ureter, and are diagnosed via ultrasound at the gynecologist’s or urologist’s clinic alike. These byproducts may cause cancer cells to develop in the tubules of the kidney, called renal cell carcinoma. Hence, visiting the gynecologist frequently might help an early diagnosis of kidney issues for timely and corrective intervention. Common treatments in urogynecology include those for pelvic floor disorders, urinary incontinence, nephrolithiasis and cystitis.
The importance of keeping in touch with your urogynecologist is also because chronic kidney diseases do not show symptoms until the disease is quite advanced. What should you therefore look for as warning signs of kidney disease? Things like fatigue, swelling in the knees and feet, swelling around the eye sockets are all tell-tale signs of kidney disease.
Urogynecology Treatments
For early detection and diagnosis, the most common route to take is a urine test - this can be administered by your endocrinologist or your urologist. Presence of albumin protein if detected in urine signals potential kidney damage. Another method is checking creatinine levels via a blood test. Dialysis and its forms, including hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, are treatments for serious kidney disease.
It is important to cover the most common urological issue faced by women, specially after giving birth - adult incontinence. This can be treated using physical therapy including bladder training, pelvic floor muscle exercise and fluid and diet management. Nerve stimulators and bulking material injections are also contemporary treatments of adult incontinence.
Conclusion
All things said, you should not be paranoid or an alarmist when it comes to your health. Urology and cardiology are both important when it comes to women’s health, because they are intertwined with hormonal balances as well. Consulting urogynecologists, cardiologists and endocrinologists in tandem whenever your health starts to worsen means early diagnosis and early intervention. Looking after your health holistically means you will be better-prepared for childbirth and post-natal care, or be able to recover if you have already given birth. It is unfortunate that women’s health is not as accessible and as well-understood as it should be, but with the knowledge you have, erring on the side of caution is super important.
