Long run
Heart health in the menopause years
The risk that rises quietly in this decade, and the numbers worth knowing.
5 minSource: British Heart Foundation

Why it comes up here
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women, and risk rises after menopause.
It is frequently under-discussed with women in midlife compared with other subjects, which is part of why it is here.
Numbers worth knowing
Blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. Knowing your own figures makes any future conversation more useful.
Most of these can be checked through a routine appointment or a health check.
What supports it
Regular activity that raises your heart rate, not smoking, and a pattern of eating you can actually keep to.
Sleep and stress are part of this picture too, not separate from it.
Source
General information from the British Heart Foundation. Your own risk needs assessing by a clinician.
The years around menopause are when bone and heart risk shift most. Understanding them early is what makes them manageable.
General information, not medical advice. Narrated never diagnoses.
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