Perimenopause This medical term means "about or near the time of menopause". Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of the monthly period. Because this determination can only be made in hindsight, those weeks, months, and years leading up to the final cessation of the period - those years full of symptoms - are defined as perimenopause. Menopause Menopause simply means the permanent cessation of the monthly menstrual periods. It is a natural transition every woman reaches. Most symptoms - physical and emotional - are linked to the gradual decline in the levels of reproductive hormones. Postmenopause A year from the last period marks the end of the transition into menopause. During postmenopause, ovaries no longer produce estrogen or progesterone. Research shows that it is hormones that provide health bones and health hearts in women. The loss of these hormones after menopause is a significant contributor to the increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease . Medically induced menopause Removal of the ovaries for medical reasons, or radiation/chemotherapy treatments strong enough to interfere with ovarian function prior to natural menopause leads to the sudden onset of menopause. Symptoms are often more severe since there is no gradual decline in hormone production, but an immediate cessation of all function. Medically-induced menopause results in an immediate rise in the risk of heart disease and osteoporosis. Due to these risks, current medical literature no longer recommends the routine removal of the ovaries as a "preventive" measure without incontrovertible evidence of ovarian disease.   ABOUT THIS PROGRAM | UNDERSTANDING MENOPAUSE | WEATHERING THE CHANGE | MORE INFORMATION | RETURN TO THE CHANGE MAIN PAGE © 1998 Prairie Public Broadcasting, Inc.