What should midlife women keep in mind when it comes to their heart health? Are there any differences between men and women when it comes to cardiac care?

As women transition through menopause, they experience a lot of changes. Many of them are well-known, but cardiovascular risk is much less talked about. During this time, arteries become more vulnerable to disease, getting thicker and stiffer. Weight gain may also occur at this point, which only increases the risk for high blood pressure.

Sadly, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the United States. Many women don’t even know they have a different cardiac anatomy and symptoms than men have. For example, a heart attack does not always look or feel the same. While women also experience chest pressure, they are more likely to report nausea, sweating, and pain in the neck, jaw, and back. Also, compared to men, women have smaller hearts and narrower blood vessels, which means heart disease can progress differently between the sexes.

trIt can be beneficial to look at menopause as an opportunity to make lifestyle changes. Some of the most effective ways to prevent heart disease—and manage many menopausal symptoms at the same time—is to not smoke, eat a healthy diet, consume little, if any, alcohol, and monitor weight gain. The biggest bang for a woman’s midlife buck is physical activity, which reduces  heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure risk and can improve sleep quality and mental health