Pat has published five books about menopause including the Award-winning ‘Hot Women, Cool Solutions: How to control menopause symptoms using mind/body techniques.’

Her latest book, ‘Menopause: Mind the Gap – the value of supporting women’s health in the workplace’ was published in January 2021 and has been highly acclaimed.

Pat is a sought-after speaker for podcasts, workshops and events. She has spoken at events around the world including America, Singapore, India, Iceland, The Netherlands, Denmark and Spain.

Caring for Your Heart

There has been so much written and talked about menopause over the past couple of years you might think that there is nothing left to say. You might imagine that women now have all the knowledge they need to navigate this natural stage of life.

Wrong!

I co-host a Menopause Café in my local town and I know from the conversations I hear there that women are still confused about what is happening to their bodies and minds. They are even more confused about their options for treatment and the contradictory information they receive.

That’s why October’s Menopause Awareness Month and World Menopause Day on 18 October is still so relevant and needed.  The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. The International Menopause Society (IMS) set the theme every year and encourage professionals and women to participate in promoting this global event.

The theme for World Menopause Day 2023 (https://www.imsociety.org/education/world-menopause-day/) is Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). The risk for CVD in women increases with age such as it does in men, but the increase starts a little later in women. Most CVD in women occurs during the years after menopause. Premature menopause, that is menopause that occurs before age 40, is an established risk factor for CVD.

One of the causes is that cholesterol levels have been found to increase in the early years after menopause. I feel this personally as I have just had a routine blood test and discovered that I have raised cholesterol level.  It came as quite a shock as I am generally healthy, eat well and exercise regularly – all factors I associate with high cholesterol.

Despite the fact that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women post-menopause and is more likely to kill them than all forms of cancer combined, women remain largely unaware of the risk. So, it is very timely that this is the theme for WMD 2023.

Risk Factors for CVD

The development of CVD is a multifactorial issue. Some of the factors that increase the risk of heart disease are:

• Age
• Family history
• Ethnicity
• High blood pressure
• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• Smoking
• Physical inactivity
• Being overweight or obese
• Diabetes
• Stress

For women at menopause, the changes in the reproductive hormones can lead to the accumulation of fat, particularly around the belly, giving rise to high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high blood sugar. The role of hormone therapy to reduce the risk of CVD is not straightforward. The efficacy depends on the age women enter menopause, their overall health, and family medical history.

Some risk factors are outside of your control. You can’t change your age, ethnicity, genetics and family history. I have discovered that my high cholesterol is probably a familial issue and it would be a good idea for my son to have a blood test even though he is very active and healthy. However, there are lots of actions that you can take and, as we say in Cognitive Hypnotherapy, ‘Focus on what you can control’.

Making changes

The best time to start taking action is today – no matter how old you are. The most effective ways to prevent heart disease include:

• quit smoking,
• be physically active (150 minutes per week),
• eat a healthy diet including consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy,
• maintain a healthy weight,
• limit salt, sugar and alcohol consumption,
• get enough sleep,
• keep cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose levels under control and
• manage stress.

These lifestyle changes can be highly effective but few people are good at following all of them. If that’s a problem for you it could be time to seek help.