Women's Heart Health in Perimenopause

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Welcome to the Uncomplicated Perimenopause Podcast . I'm Kate Grosvenor , your friendly perimenopause expert and life coach .

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And I'm Gabriella Kate's daughter , representing all the women who are nowhere near perimenopause but want to understand it better .

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Whether you're just starting your perimenopause journey deep into it , whether you're just starting your perimenopause journey deep into it , or you're a loved one trying to support someone who is , we've got you covered .

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We'll be answering all of your burning questions , exploring the ups and downs and sharing expert advice and personal insights .

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So grab a cup of tea , get comfy and let's dive into the wonderful . Get comfy and let's dive into the wonderful , sometimes wild , world of perimenopause together .

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And remember , no matter where you are on your journey , you are not alone .

Speaker 2 0:55

Welcome to the Uncomplicated Perimenopause . Hello , my darlings , and welcome to episode 10 of the Uncomplicated Perimenopause Podcast , series 2 . I'm Kate Grosvenor . I'm a perimenopause expert and life coach .

Speaker 3 1:10

And I'm Gabriella Grosvenor , Kate's daughter , here to learn with you all .

Speaker 2 1:13

We've had a fun day today , haven't we ?

Speaker 3 1:14

Yeah , you look exhausted , though I'm very tired , I'm not going to lie .

Speaker 2 1:18

This is our first day back as a threesome . That sounds a bit rude .

Speaker 3 1:22

No one will say that .

Speaker 2 1:22

Threesome in the office because Ellie's back off maternity leave and it was lovely . But you look like you're in shell shock because you've been using your new computer .

Speaker 3 1:32

I don't like it .

Speaker 2 1:33

I know ? Bless you . You're set in new ways , aren't you ? You're called Cherub , and yeah , so you've been having to use your new computer .

Speaker 3 1:48

And a new mouse and new chair and everything . I know . It doesn't sound like it's a lot , but it is a lot .

Speaker 2 1:50

When you're used to something , it is I'm laughing . It's like when you get a new phone and you think , oh , it was really exciting to use a new phone . Then you've got to reset up all your authenticator apps and your mobile banking and stuff . It's a lot . Bless you , but it will be lovely and you won't have to admin all the birthday things ever again . Yeah , it'd be great , true ? You'll be loving it in a week's time . Just today sucks a little bit .

Speaker 3 2:13

It's been good , but it's just long . I just need some me time after . But that's fine . I think we all have our times where we say we need to just be alone a little bit I think , do you know what's really good , though ?

Speaker 2 2:23

I think your generation and the generations after you are really really know when they need alone time . Yeah , our generation . We weren't taught about mental health . We weren't all about our space . Um , I saw this thing on I think it was on tiktok yesterday , where this woman younger than me , obviously I don't say obviously , but she- was she was having kids over for a sleepover and the kids , I think , were about 10 or something and they were all having a sleepover . And she walked downstairs and she found that there was different kids in different rooms .

Speaker 2 2:54

And it's because they'd all broken off . They were having a sleepover , they'd all broken off a little bit of alone time . So one of the kids was in this is her daughter's friends . One of the kids was outside just having a read and one of the kids was in the kitchen have it , making themselves a sandwich , and her daughter was upstairs doing something else and she was like , oh my God , like they're , they're aware enough of themselves to know that they needed just to have a little bit of away time before they regrouped .

Speaker 3 3:20

Yeah .

Speaker 2 3:20

And she was like we would have just suffered through it . I remember sleepovers as a youngster being absolute torture . I remember distinctly actually going to a girl's house because her parents had said that she had to invite every single girl in the year group and I was just a girl in the year group and we didn't get on and I didn't know that her parents had insisted and I thought she was trying to be my friend . I went there and she bullied me , oh , the whole time , and I was couldn't leave and she bullied me while I was there and being absolutely the most miserable yeah experience ever no , that sucks you don't know these things , do you ?

Speaker 2 3:59

because you , you're always a little mispopular , you know ? Imagine being emotionally aware as a 10 yearyear-old and saying I'm just going to have some me time . So I think it's great that you can say I just need some time to myself .

Speaker 3 4:10

Yeah , I think , rowan and I spoke about this recently that your generation and the generation before are told you have to work so and so many hours a day , you have to work overtime for free to get the job that you want and and stay in the same job for so many years and and now it's like you know , if this doesn't make you happy , we work to live rather than live to work , and I think it's just changing that that narrative yeah yeah , cool .

Speaker 2 4:35

Well , anyway , we digress . What is the the conversation for today ? What is the question ?

Speaker 3 4:40

yeah , so this question is from . She's from the emirates , so I assume it's Yasmin , not Yasmin . So I'm just gonna say Yasmin . Okay , she's from the emirates , so I assume it's yasmin , not yasmin . So I'm just gonna say yasmin , okay , she's 43 . Hi , it's me . And she says I keep hearing that heart disease risk increases after menopause . Okay , but no one ever talks about why or what it is okay , yeah , yeah what should I be doing now that I'm in perimenopause to protect my heart health ? Ooh yeah .

Speaker 2 5:05

Yes .

Speaker 3 5:06

I have no , did not even know that .

Speaker 2 5:08

Right , okay , so first of all , really important question . So thanks , yasmeen or Jasmine , whichever one you are , for we presume Yasmeen I'm going to digress down that whole track . I better get off that one quickly for asking that Really critical question because , yes , heart disease is the leading cause of death for women worldwide . Oh my God no way .

Speaker 3 5:32

Yeah , seriously . Oh , I didn't know what kind of heart disease , Just a heart disease .

Speaker 2 5:38

Just heart disease in general . It's often overlooked because it doesn't make headlines , it's not sensational , it's not like this is I need to say this . So it's so . I'm not cancelled . It's not spicy enough , it's not spicy , it's not thought-provoking , but heart health is a really big risk and we need to be aware of it . And , most importantly , you need to understand what you can do now to support your heart health . So , whatever age you are , there are things that you can do to support your heart health . So , whatever age you are , there are things that you can do to support your heart health , even at your age , and there's some . Incredibly . There's some incredible supplements you can take . There's really sound nutritional advice you can , you can follow . There's , obviously exercise that you can do , but it's , it's there's things that really that you can do , that that do make a massive difference , and it's just being aware of it . It's just literally being aware of it and knowing what those things are . So why is the most important question that ?

Speaker 2 6:51

most people don't know . Guess which hormone is to blame ?

Speaker 3 6:56

Estrogen , yes , bing , bing , bing , bing bing , You've really put me off estrogen . You know I don't like it anymore . No , you do .

Speaker 2 7:02

I don't like it anymore . No , you do , I don't , you do . You do because it's the one that you want when . It's the one that you want because it's your powerhouse hormone . You want oestrogen , you need , you need oestrogen , okay , and it . So oestrogen is the one that you actually need , because it does so much more than just regulate your cycles .

Speaker 3 7:22

It does a lot more .

Speaker 2 7:23

It . See , this is the thing , because people go well , oestrogen is just the one that that regulates . No , it also . One of its key roles actually is is to , um , protect your cardiovascular system . Cardiovascular , um . It helps to keep your blood vessels flexible , okay , it allows them to . Basically . It allows them to basically expand and contract as needed . So your blood flow as it goes through your cardiovascular system , your vessels need to expand and contract and estrogen allows it to do that . It helps to regulate cholesterol , okay , so bad cholesterol is LDL and good cholesterol is HDL , so it allows good cholesterol to be higher and bad cholesterol to be lower . That's , estrogen does that . And it also helps to reduce inflammation in the body , which is a major contributor to heart disease . So estrogen is super , duper , duper important when it comes to just heart health in general . But as we go into , through perimenopause , menopause and then outwards , obviously eugen actually declines .

Speaker 2 8:35

Yeah , I may have mentioned this I was gonna say yeah , deja vu just yeah , a couple of times , and this is when the protection that estrogen would give you , and this is when the protection that estrogen would give you falls away , fades , and what that then leads to is high cholesterol levels , particularly the LDL , which is the bad cholesterol . Stiffer blood vessels because not as flexible , obviously . And so then the question is well , what's the problem with stiffer blood vessels ?

Speaker 2 9:02

Higher blood pressure , because if your blood vessels aren't as as flexible , your blood pressure is going to be higher , and then what happens is there's a greater risk of plaque build-up , which and the plaque builds up in the arteries , which then is a great this I sound like really doom and gloom when I'm saying this . I'm sitting here going . I really sound like the grim reaper . But yeah , if plaque builds up in your arteries , there's an increased likelihood of heart attacks yeah , and strokes , and how do ?

Speaker 3 9:32

how do they get clogged ?

Speaker 2 9:34

because that that's the point . There's inflammation in the body , right cholesterol buildup . All these things mean that there's a greater buildup .

Heart Health and Perimenopause Essentials

Speaker 2 9:44

So , while heart disease is , isn't inevitable so it's not a you know , it's not a fait accompli . We , it's not an um , a fait accompli . Yeah , it's not inevitable , it's not . Uh , that's what it is in french .

Speaker 3 9:56

Yeah , okay , good every day is a school day we need to be , but you need to . That's so good , fait accompli .

Speaker 2 10:02

I like that , but you need to be proactive about heart health , especially during perimenopause especially as a woman .

Speaker 3 10:09

Well , yes , because men don't go through perimenopause heart disease , both men and women .

Speaker 2 10:15

But the thing is that men they're drilled about heart disease because it's a big thing for men and women , the thing big thing for men , okay , and women it got . The thing is that for men , heart disease is stereotypically clutching at the heart , um , red in the face . Women's heart disease can go unnoticed . It's not as symptomatic , stereotypically symptomatic , okay , so it can sneak under the radar a little bit more so that's why it's a little bit dodgier , if you like . So what can you do please ?

Speaker 2 10:54

so obviously I'm going to start today the the million dollar question from yasmin there um , what can we do to keep our hearts strong ? What can we do to the whole cardiovascular system ? Well , there's the good news is there's plenty of things you can do okay frankly , um , best scientific ones .

Speaker 2 11:11

To start with heart . Healthy nutrition okay , that supplements . Well , let's start off with food . So let's start off with health . Hearty , kind of healthy , hearty , hearty , healthy , whichever way around you want to do it . Fats , okay . So you know I'm always the one that will say don't close , close , close , let's dial it back one first . Okay , prior to those healthy fats . I will always go on about healthy fats because my generation were brought up on low fat , this , low fat that , and we have to rewrite that book . Healthy fats are essential for healthy brains , healthy hearts Okay , we need to have healthy fats for perimenopause . So olive oil is Mediterranean diet in general is really good .

Speaker 2 12:03

But olive oil , nuts , seeds , oily fish all of these help support cholesterol , balance , plenty of fiber . So whole grains , fruits and veggies . Please , please , please , as much as possible . Um , leave the gnarly bits on veggies and fruits . So don't peel them if you don't have to . Oh right , yeah , so you want the . So you want the . The peel on the apple , you want the pith in the orange , you want the outside on the veggies , if you can , because that usually the skin of the fruit is the one that has the more fiber in it . You want it fibrous and gnarly , if you can . What's gnarly , gnarly ? Um , that just sounds like like a surfer do you know the ?

Speaker 2 12:44

dates you know , dates you know . Do you know medjool dates , the ones that we have in egypt right ? Do you know the outside of it when it's all kind of like wrinkly ? Yeah , and fiber .

Speaker 2 12:54

That's gnarly . Oh so it looked like the outside of a tree like bark that sounds like a surfer , surfer word like gnarly , gnarly dude . Yeah , um , cut down on processed food . Yeah , cut down on processed sugars period . Added sugars are the devil incarnate , I'm afraid , when it comes to hearty health , I can't even say it today , heart health . The reason being is they're massively inflammatory and will actually add to your um fat around your tummy , right to the middle , and that is , it's in itself , a heart risk .

Speaker 2 13:31

Um also include magnesium rich food green beans , dark leafy veggies , um dark chocolate in moderation .

Speaker 3 13:45

All these things are full of magnesium and support heart health the more we do these , these episodes , the more like I hear just more . So many more benefits on magnesium .

Speaker 2 13:54

Magnesium seems to be like the most important thing magnesium , magnesium , magnesium , omega-3s , vitamin d's these are just at any age , yeah , a good quality omega-3 supplement , a good quality magnesium supplement . If you can't get enough very few of us get enough omega-3 and magnesium from our food okay , I could go . I could bang on about the fact that we don't eat enough oily fish . I could bang on about the fact we don't eat enough leafy greens . But you , if you can't get enough , and you know you're not eating enough oily fish , if you're not , yeah , so I mean , we do in in , obviously , in the perimenopause range of our lifestyle brand , we do a vegan omega and a normal omega-3 supplement if you , if you're not getting enough , make sure you take one .

Speaker 2 14:41

The reason that we do a vegan omega is some for some women , not just because they're they're vegan , but so for some people it's like the fear of that fishy aftertaste just you can't bear it . Um , so if that's you go for the vegan alternative . That's absolutely fine , because what you want to do is it's about your heart health , but it's also about your brain function , it's also about your eye function , it's also about inflammation in your body , and mega is a really really important , so that just the like oils in general really important . Yeah .

Speaker 2 15:14

Number two keep your body moving . Cardiovascular exercise is fantastic for heart health , but it's not about running marathons , walking , dancing in the kitchen in your underwear . You know whatever you want to do swimming , cycling , yoga yep , you knew I was gonna say it . Come on , it wouldn't be . It wouldn't be a podcast without yoga , greek yoga or olive oil or estrogen .

Speaker 3 15:35

Those are the top three estrogen . Greek yoga and yoga it has to be done like I need to start like a ticking system on this ipad of like yep , she said it , then she said it this many times . It's true , just listen , guys , it has to be done . Yogurt first thing in the morning , do your yoga , take your magnesium and pray that your estrogen is fine and all is well with the world .

Speaker 2 15:55

Strength training is also key because it helps your improve insulin sensitivity and it reduces the risk of just metabolic conditions that can contribute to heart disease . Just yeah , 30 minutes a day or 30 minutes here and there . You know there's no such thing as perfect . Very few women would nail 30 minutes of exercise every single day . Do what you can , as much as you can . Don't put too much pressure on yourself . As much as you know , I've got an apple watch and I try and make sure I close my movement ring every day . Right , that's what it's all about for me . Just try and move . If you feel like your energy levels are dropping , try something like even the collagen peptides just help support muscle recovery and joints , just so that you're you keeps you moving as as long as you can .

Speaker 2 16:50

Um , number three , I'd say manage stress and sleep . While we're on that subject , chronic stress raises cortisol , okay , and that in turn will increase blood pressure and inflammation . So yoga , no , that doesn't help with stress . But meditation , breath work , reflection , journaling , all these kind of things . Just 10 minutes a day will really . I mean , you still journal , I still journal , I still journal when I have to . My reflection process is a lot more internal these days . Because I'm so used to it , I'll just sit and think more than journal , because I've been doing it for so many years now . When I have to journal , I will still journal . If I'm in a tangle in my brain and I have to get it out , I will still journal about it . Okay , but a lot of it's just internal work now . But it's quiet work , it's . I will think around it , yeah , but if I can't , if it's knotted , do you know what I mean ?

Speaker 1 17:53

like I can't find the end of it then I will still journal it out .

Speaker 2 17:57

Um , sleep is non-negotiable . Yeah , heart health , believe it or not . Poor sleep increases the chances of high blood pressure and heart disease , and so you know I call it sleep hygiene . That time before you go to sleep dimming the lights , making sure the room is the right temperature , avoiding screens , all that kind of stuff . That's really , really important . And if you're struggling with your sleep , magnesium , yeah , meditation , meditation , um , no , no , no , now just cacao would be a good shout . Um , magnet , magnet magnesium complex is a good shout .

Speaker 3 18:38

Anything that you can do to reduce the kind of stress before bedtime , yeah , get into that calm as headspace the cacao really does help , because I have like I suffer with , with ocd , and it really can take over your brain sometimes . And then , since releasing the cacao , like the two or three weeks leading up to it , I told you I had bad dreams every single night . And now it's just so calming yeah , to do before bed , and it just gets you out of bad dreams every single night . And now it's just so calming yeah , to do before bed , and it just gets you out of your own head . Yeah , just for a little bit enough for you to sleep .

Speaker 3 19:07

Yeah , so it really is such a game changer I'm not even shameless plugging this , but it really is I know it's it , thank you it .

Speaker 2 19:14

Well , that's why I called it cacao . I mean it's cacao collagen and calm .

Speaker 2 19:18

Yeah , but the whole point was the calm bit on the end , because that's what it's all about and it was the reason that we created it was for that reason . It's for women like me that have a sweet tooth that were indulging at night , um , in , because you know me , I I I've always had that thing where I wanted to sugar binge at night and it was disrupting my sleep and it was making my heart escalate and my heart pound at night times , which was then affecting my sleep , and it was making my heart escalate and my heart pound at night times , which was then affecting my sleep , which was then affecting my insulin , which was then you know all these things . So that's the reason that we created it was for women that needed that calmness at night time , um , but it's , it's for every woman that needs that just bit of yeah , soothing . So keep an eye on your blood pressure , keep an eye on your . So keep an eye on your blood pressure , keep an eye on your cholesterol , keep an eye on your blood sugar , which is what I was saying .

Speaker 2 20:08

Many women don't realise that blood pressure , that high blood pressure , can start in perimenopause . It's worth getting your blood pressure checked regularly . It's one of those things where it actually can just begin in perimenopause . And's the , it's the estrogen balance , as well as other things going on , that it can be the onset of an issue , unfortunately . Also keep an eye on cholesterol and blood sugar . Insulin resistance becomes more common in midlife and it and it's a major contributor to heart disease . So if you haven't had a a heart health check or a full heart health check , it's a good time to do that . It's a really good time to do it , even if you just next time you're at your doctor's surgery for anything , just say to them or you know , if you're or you're your nurse practitioner , just say can you just take my blood pressure ?

Speaker 2 20:59

they won't mind doing it . It's a good idea just to check on it because it may be more elevated than you think it is , because you will get those hearts it . I'll tell you when you know . I mean , as you know , I'm writing a course at the moment on chronic stress and yeah , and you know , not my circus , not my monkey type thing and how to get out of chronic stress and all those things but you know , when you're in chronic stress , when you lie down at night , and that's when your heart starts to really starts to pump and and flutter , and so don't ignore the signs . Yeah , if you , if you are at rest and your heart starts to beat faster , that's when you know that you're you're really getting stressed about things in life .

Speaker 2 21:48

There's a supplement , another supplement that you could take , which is vitamin d3 , k2 . This one helps calcium to get to where it should be okay , which is in your bones rather than your arteries , which is why the k2 is very important . That helps to reduce , reduce the risk of calcification and supports your heart health . So if you're not getting much sun exposure , that particular supplement which we would struggle with living in the uk exactly not yasmin , living in the emirates .

Speaker 2 22:18

No yasmin's okay on that one yeah but for those of us who live a little bit north of the equator , that's a very essential one

Perimenopause and Heart Health Choices

Speaker 2 22:27

. Now controversial point Consider HRT .

Speaker 3 22:31

Okay .

Speaker 2 22:32

Not you . Yeah , sure , sure , yeah . Um , we got some feedback recently from a woman , um that listens to our podcast , and one of the feedback points that we got recently is we don't push hrt and we don't . Hrt is a very individual choice yeah , not one size fits all no , personally , I have hrt .

Speaker 2 22:56

Okay , because that's my choice . I would never tell a woman to or not to have hrt . However , on the matter of heart health , and again not telling people to take hrt or not to , there are many , many , many women out there that cannot take hrt and so I I will never be . I will never want to exclude anybody . It's not fair , okay , but I'm saying studies suggest that starting HRT early in perimenopause or before 60 or within 10 years of menopause , may help reduce heart disease for a good proportion of women .

Speaker 3 23:39

May , may .

Speaker 2 23:40

May , and I'm phrasing it like that particularly because I'm not going to scaremonger and I'm not going to put undue pressure on people . I'm saying the research suggests that it's good for your heart because it replaces oestrogen . Well said Okay , and that's all I'm going to say on that . If you're considering hrt , please consult with a medical professional yeah , not us not us , because we're not here to tell you to take it or not yeah okay , right .

Speaker 2 24:08

So , jasmine , my lovely , yes , you are right . Heart disease risk increases through perimenopause and up to menopause , mainly because of we lose the protective effects of oestrogen . The good news lots of things you can do to support your heart health diet , movement , stress management , check-ups , supplements , style and even hrt if that's right for you . And of course you know you can really really take care of your heart , and I'll put the links to the supplements . If you really want to take care of your heart , you can take the omegas , the d , collagen , magnesium , all those kind of things . They're there to help you in your journey as well . Remember that you don't have to do all of the things all at once and you're definitely not alone . Small , consistent changes from wherever you're starting now , whatever age you're on , whether you're 24 , 51 , 50 no , it's 20 , 25 and 51 . Then I'm 25 , but if I called you 25 , you might be offended a little bit .

Speaker 3 25:08

Well , that's what I'm saying I'm calling you 24 , you don't have to play by my rules , true , true true , true , okay , I don't think people understand actually know that our birthdays are also five days apart .

Speaker 2 25:16

Yes , so if , if you're something , then I should be too yeah , but I don't want to tie you with the same weird brush .

Speaker 3 25:22

Yeah , fair mighty big of you to admit it's weird yeah , I'm okay .

Speaker 2 25:26

But I'm okay with weird yeah that that I fell off that tree a long time ago and I hit every branch on the way down amazing yep , I'm okay . It's all groovy um Small consistent changes . Big reward later on . If you've never read the book Atomic Habits great book James Clear he talks about 1% consistent changes .

Speaker 3 25:49

Oh , the 1% every day . Mm-hmm .

Speaker 2 25:51

Great . I always say perimenopause is not just something to get through . Yeah , it's an opportunity . It's not just something to get through . It's an opportunity and , honestly , I can hear women across the world rolling their eyes as I say this . But listen , if you set yourself up in perimenopause for the healthiest and strongest midlife possible , your future self will thank you . So don't just think of perimenopause . I've just got to get through this . I've just got it through this right . You can , if you , you can make amazing choices . You can be the healthiest you could possibly be through perimenopause , and your post-menopause self will really thank you because you'll have great habits . So say you know , thrive through perimenopause , and your post-menopause self will be like you , rocked . Yeah , thanks for that .

Speaker 2 26:45

So if you found this helpful , please do share this podcast with a friend . We'd really appreciate it . And if you have any burning perimenopause questions , please send it our way . Yeah , um , and we might just you never know answer that in a future episode . As always , thank you so much for tuning in . As I said , if you have any questions , please do let us know and you can keep your heart healthy . Yeah , absolutely . Take care , my darlings , and we'll speak to you soon . Bye , bye .

Perimenopause Podcast

Speaker 2 27:26

Thanks for joining us today on the uncomplicated perimenopause podcast . We hope you found this episode helpful and inspiring .

Speaker 3 27:30

Don't forget if you have any questions or topics you'd like us to cover , you can reach out through our perimenopause group or on whatsapp for more information on my coaching perimenopause group or on WhatsApp .

Speaker 2 27:41

For more information on my coaching perimenopause supplements , books or upcoming events , please visit wwwkategrovernercom .

Speaker 3 27:47

And if you've enjoyed today's episode , please subscribe , rate and review our podcast . It really helps us reach more listeners , just like you . Until next time .

Speaker 2 27:56

Remember , perimenopause doesn't have to be complicated . We're here to help you every step of the way . Stay uncomplicated .