Before I joined Hello Heart, I had no idea heart disease was the leading cause of death for women. And I'm a woman in my mid-40s, a few years away from menopause—one of the highest risk phases for women.

I know the importance of an annual mammogram, but I've never thought twice about my heart health, especially since I have low blood pressure.

I eat clean, work out regularly, and consider myself healthy. So did Adrienne, a Hello Heart member who had a heart attack at 41. She experienced a SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection), a rare condition that disproportionately affects women, often in their 40s.

I wish my doctor would have had a heart-to-heart with me about the stress and heart health connection when I was in my early 30s. And again about the impact of perimenopause on the heart when I hit my early 40s.

So this Women's Health Month, let’s have the heart-to-heart I wish I'd had earlier.

Heart symptoms in women look different

Heart disease kills more women in the U.S. each year than all cancers combined. And the symptoms in women often don't look like the ones we've been taught to watch for. 

Our heart symptoms can show up as fatigue, nausea, back pain, or jaw tightness. The kind of things most of us would brush off as a long week, bad sleep, or stress.

Three moments when a woman's heart health can shift

Here's the part I really wish someone had told me sooner. Heart risk doesn't stay flat across a woman's life. It rises during specific windows, and most of us are moving through them without knowing.

Pregnancy and postpartum

1 in 7 women develops high blood pressure during pregnancy. And risk can stay elevated in the weeks and months after delivery, right when blood pressure monitoring usually stops.

The tricky part is that a lot of cardiac warning signs—shortness of breath, swelling, fatigue, nausea—overlap with normal pregnancy symptoms. So it's easy to chalk them up to "this is just what pregnancy feels like."

If you're pregnant or recently had a baby, checking your blood pressure at home is one of the simplest ways to stay tuned in.

Perimenopause and menopause

Menopausal women face nearly three times the cardiovascular risk of women the same age who haven't gone through menopause yet.

Blood pressure often rises during this transition. But most of us think of menopause as a reproductive thing—hot flashes, sleep changes, mood shifts. The heart connection rarely comes up.

If you're over 40, this is a good time to start knowing your numbers. Not because something is wrong. Because something is changing, and you deserve to see it.

Chronic stress

Chronic stress is its own cardiovascular risk factor. Sustained stress can raise blood pressure even in someone with no prior heart history.

And here's what stings: women are more likely to have stress-related symptoms dismissed as anxiety, which delays a real answer.

If you're going through a stretch where life feels relentless—a hard season at work, caregiving, grief, a move, a loss—a single check-in with your blood pressure can give you a number to work from instead of a guess.

What Dr. Jayne Morgan, our cardiologist, wants you to hear

One small step this week

If this is the first time you're hearing any of this, you're in good company. I was right there with you a year ago.

Here are three small steps you can take:

Check your blood pressure this week. At home, at the pharmacy, or at your next doctor's appointment. Just once, to start. You'll have a number. That's the whole goal.

Have a heart-to-heart with one woman you love. Your mom. Your sister. Your best friend. Your daughter. Ask her, "Do you know your blood pressure?" That one question can ripple further than you think.

Open the Hello Heart app. If you have a monitor, use it this week. If you've been meaning to set yours up, this is your nudge. Tracking even once tells you something you didn't know yesterday.

You're not behind. You're just getting started. 

You don't have to overhaul your life. Just start paying attention to a part of your health you may not have been told to pay attention to before.

That's how this heart-to-heart starts. With one number, one conversation, one small step.

Your heart has been doing the quiet work of keeping everything else in your life going. This month, give it a few minutes back.

👉 If you're a Hello Heart member: Open your app and take a reading this week. One number is all it takes to start. Check your eligibility here.

👉 If you lead benefits or HR for your organization: The women on your team are moving through these moments right now. Get a free guide and conversation kit to start the heart-to-heart at work.