Wies: “We need to talk about the serious stuff”

Something hilarious happened yesterday. I was at a café having coffee with a friend, when we both got a hot flash. Her whole face went red and she had to take off a layer of clothes. Then I started feeling hot and had to remove my sweater. There we were, sitting in our undershirts. It was truly a sight to behold. Good thing we were wearing those undershirts! Of course, the conversation immediately turned to menopause. We spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about brain fog, menopausal rage and night sweats. We just went on and on and on.  

Risks associated with menopause

What strikes me is that my friends and I always focus on symptoms like hot flashes, sleep problems or mood swings when we talk about menopause. We never mention the more serious consequences of oestrogen loss. About 30 percent of women develop high blood pressure and 50 percent of women have raised cholesterol, which drastically increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Why aren’t we talking about this? 

It’s probably just stress

My cholesterol levels and blood pressure have also gone up. They are still in a healthy range, but I need to be careful. There is no escaping it, really. I think the topic deserves more attention than we give it, especially because the symptoms of cardiovascular disease are so easy to explain away. 

I have two friends who started experiencing heart palpitations, breathlessness and restlessness. Nobody thought they had heart problems, not even the doctor. Instead, they thought their symptoms were a result of stress. After all, they hadn’t been sleeping well due to menopause. Plus they both were balancing jobs while caring for their elderly parents. Turned out something was wrong with their heart. 

Talk about it

I'm not trying to scare anyone or act like I know it all, but I do think we should be more aware of the risks and talk more openly about menopause. This goes for me, too. Websites like this one and others, like the website of the British Heart Foundation, provide useful information for recognising the early warning signs of cardiovascular disease.  

Keep tabs on your health

It’s really important to monitor your health. Your blood pressure, weight, cholesterol and blood sugar levels provide lots of information about how well your heart is working. Your GP can check these values, or you can check yourself at home with a test from the pharmacy. “Know your numbers!” That’s what the cardiologist I know always says.  

Want to know what numbers they mean? Let me break it down for you. 

• Cholesterol: the 5-3-1 rule. Total cholesterol: under 5 mmol/l. LDL cholesterol: under 3 mmol/l. HDL cholesterol: more than 1 mmol/l. 
• Blood sugar: not higher than 6 mmol/L before meals. 
• Blood pressure: normal pressure is 120/80 or lower; 140/90 is considered high. 
• Heart rate: a normal resting heart rate ranges from 60 to 100 beats per minute. 

More about Wies? Wies: “At the risk of sounding redundant, I need to make this extremely clear: a healthy lifestyle is super important.” 

Who is Wies?

Wies Verbeek (58) is a healthy ageing journalist, founder of website BLOW.nl, and author of ’n Beetje Leuk Ouder Worden, 101 verrassende en bewezen tips (Ageing Happily, 101 surprising tips that work). And... she's going through menopause like the rest of us. 

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