(PNA photo by Avito Dalan) MANILA - Women who undergo premature or early menopause have increased risk of non-fatal cardiovascular disease that happens before age 60, a health expert said Wednesday. In a virtual Kapihan forum, Philippine Heart Association Council member Dr. Cynthia De Lara said premature menopause leads to decrease in estrogen, the hormone controlling cholesterol levels in women. De Lara cited the Framingham Study in 1976 which showed that cardiovascular disease a disease of the heart and the blood vessels was common in women who experienced an earlier menopause. "Women who had undergone a surgical menopause before the age of 35 were seven times at greater risk of myocardial infarction or heart attack compared to women of the same age," she said. She added that the leading cause of death among Filipino women in 2018 was ischaemic heart disease which is 14 percent of the total number of fatalities for the group that year at 252,920. Menopause and its stage