Everyday Wellness: Midlife Hormones, Menopause, and Science for Women 35+

Ep. 555 “It’s Not Just Hot Flashes” – The Most Overlooked Heart Disease Risks in Menopause with Dr. Jayne Morgan | Menopause & Heart Disease

Feb 14, 2026

Dr. Jayne Morgan, cardiologist and VP of Medical Affairs at Hello Heart, specializes in women's cardiovascular health. She discusses gaps in clinician training about perimenopause and menopause. Short, lively takes cover how midlife risk factors cluster, atypical heart attack symptoms in women, screening tips like Lp(a) and EKG, and why personalized care matters.

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INSIGHT

The Midlife Risk-Factor Cluster

Perimenopause produces a 'cluster' of risk factors—hypertension, dyslipidemia, weight gain, insulin resistance—that arrive together.
Treating these risks in isolation misses the synergistic danger they pose during midlife.

ADVICE

Take Prescribed Heart Medications

If your clinician prescribes blood pressure or cholesterol meds, take them rather than assuming lifestyle alone will suffice.
Medications maintain youthful risk levels and can be weaned once goals are achieved.

ANECDOTE

Atypical Symptoms Dismissed As Anxiety

Morgan recounts writing 'atypical chest pain, rule out panic disorder' on many women's charts during training.
Women with vague symptoms often waited while enzymes rose before clinicians acknowledged heart attacks.

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I am excited to welcome Dr. Jayne Morgan as my guest today. She is a cardiologist and the Vice President of Medical Affairs at Hello Heart, specializing in women's health and cardiovascular research.

In our conversation, we look at the gaps in clinicians’ training around perimenopause and menopause, also discussing gender neutral training, and how men and women are treated differently in the medical system. Dr. Morgan shares her preferred areas of focus when educating middle-aged women about hormone replacement therapy and clusters of diagnoses, which include diabetes, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and weight-loss resistance. We examine how myocardial infarctions (heart attacks) tend to manifest differently in women, often with microvascular disease, atypical chest pain, and less obvious symptom patterns. We also explore screening recommendations, such as EKGs, Lp(a) assessments, and mammography for microcalcifications, which might indicate an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease.

This fun and lively conversation with Dr. Morgan offers valuable, practical insights into women’s heart health. I look forward to recording future podcast episodes with her.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

One-size-fits-all treatment of women during medical training in the ’90s and early 2000s
Speaking up in the exam room when something doesn’t feel right
When hormone therapy was labeled dangerous, and the fallout that followed
Medicine’s uncomfortable truth: clinicians must keep learning or fall behind
Gender-neutral cardiology and the women it left behind
The midlife risk-factor pileup no one prepared women for
Why not taking blood pressure or cholesterol medications is risky rather than healthy
Heart attacks often mistaken for anxiety, especially in women
Slow change, real progress in women’s cardiology care

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