unPAUSED with Dr. Mary Claire Haver Menopause and Heart Disease: What Every Woman Needs to Know with Dr. Jayne Morgan
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Oct 28, 2025 
Dr. Jayne Morgan, a research cardiologist and advocate for women's heart health, discusses the critical link between menopause and cardiovascular risk. She reveals that hot flashes can be warning signs for heart disease and emphasizes how women's symptoms differ from men's during heart attacks. Dr. Morgan highlights the importance of early hormone therapy and specific lab tests for women, while addressing biases in medical research. She also offers actionable advice on lifestyle changes that can significantly improve heart health during midlife.
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Atypical Symptoms Are Typical For Women
- Women often present with 'atypical' heart attack symptoms like fatigue, nausea, jaw pain, and flu-like feelings.
- Those symptoms are typical for many women and get dismissed, causing dangerous diagnostic delays.
Don't Dismiss Women's Symptoms As Panic
- If you're a clinician, stop defaulting to 'panic disorder' for women with atypical symptoms and keep a higher suspicion for cardiac causes.
- Use objective testing (troponin, serial markers, imaging) rather than dismissing symptoms as emotional.
Women’s Plaque Patterns Differ From Men’s
- Men typically get single-vessel occlusions causing dramatic chest pain while women more often have diffuse/studded plaques and microvascular disease.
- That pattern produces vaguer, exertion- or meal-triggered symptoms and is harder to detect with tests targeting large-vessel blockages.