Key Takeaways
- Heart Health Check: The QRisk Score is an online tool that calculates your 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) based on evidence-based risk factors.
- CVD is Preventable: Small lifestyle changes – like eating a heart-healthy diet, not smoking and staying active – can significantly reduce your risk.
- Women Over 50 at Higher Risk: After menopause heart disease risk increases due to hormonal shifts, higher cholesterol, and blood pressure changes.
- Recognise Symptoms: Learn the subtle warning signs of an unhealthy heart, such as fatigue, chest discomfort, or shortness of breath.
- Take Action Today: Use the QRisk Score to have a conversation with your GP, or myself, track your health, and create a plan to protect your heart.
Let’s look at what CVD is, why QRisk is so powerful, and how you can use this knowledge to take charge of your health. I’ll share practical tips, relatable stories, and strategies so you can stay heart-healthy at any age. 💪
Heart Health Check
As we age, particularly after menopause, taking time to do a heart health check is so important. Our hormones and metabolisms change and we get a little less active year by year. These can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
But here’s the good news: by understanding your risk, you can take proactive steps to protect your heart and master your cardiovascular health. ❤️
One tool that can help us know out risk, is the QRisk Calculator. It’s an easy-to-use online calculator designed to assess your 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease.
You can also download my free guide to metabolism testing and cardiovascular health, created to help you understand the other things you need to keep an eye on.
What Is Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)?
Cardiovascular disease affects the heart and blood vessels, “cardio” meaning heart and “vascular” meaning your blood vessels. For example, heart attacks and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries).
Often called a “silent killer,” CVD can develop over decades without obvious symptoms until a major CVD event occurs. Think of it like a clogged pipe: the damage happens gradually until one day, the flow stops.
As the famous American swimmer and 28-Olympic medal winner Michael Phelps said, “The problem with heart disease is that the first symptom is often fatal.”
For women over 50, not on HRT, the risks rises. The natural drop in oestrogen, combined with metabolic changes and lack of appropriate exercise can weaken the heart’s defences.
That’s why it’s so important to stay ahead of the game – and that’s where QRisk comes in.
PRO-TIP : Don’t procrastinate… measure your risk today.
Atherosclerosis is like a cloggged pipe, gradually furring up.
What Is the QRisk Calculator? 🩺
The QRisk Calculator is a scientifically validated tool developed in the UK by the University of Nottingham to calculate your 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease. It uses a combination of these factors to give a personalised risk percentage:
- Age and gender
- Smoking status
- Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference
- Systolic blood pressure
- Total cholesterol levels
- Family history of heart disease
- Existing medical conditions, like diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, or chronic kidney disease
The calculator also accounts for ethnic groups, recognising that some groups, may have higher risks.
The QRisk Score is endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and is widely used in general practice and primary care settings for CVD risk assessment.
PRO-TIP : If you have 3 or more risk factors, give me a call to talk about it.
Go online to https://qrisk.org and simply type in the answers to the quesitons.
Why Women Are at Higher Risk After Menopause ❤️
Postmenopause brings several changes that can silently impact your heart:
- Hormonal Shifts: Oestrogen helps keep blood vessels flexible. After menopause, this protective effect gradually declines.
- Metabolic Changes: Many women experience weight gain, insulin resistance, and increased abdominal fat – all of which raise CVD risk factors.
- Blood Pressure and Cholesterol: Both often creep up after menopause, increasing strain on the heart.
- Inflammation: Silent inflammation can accelerate the build-up of plaque in the arteries. I’ll be talking aobut those blood markers in more detail in another blog soon.
These changes may sound worrying, but they’re not inevitable. With the right lifestyle modification steps, you can stay ahead of problems.
Annually measure all your cardiovascular risk markers.
I saw many people who had advanced heart disease and I was so frustrated because I knew if they just knew how to do the right thing, simple lifestyle and diet steps, that the entire trajectory of their life and health would have been different.
Signs of an Unhealthy Heart 💞
Women often experience subtle or “atypical” symptoms, making early diagnosis of coronary heart disease tricky. Watch out for:
- Chest discomfort: May feel like pressure or indigestion.
- Shortness of breath: Especially during routine activities.
- Fatigue: Persistent tiredness without a clear cause.
- Radiating pain: In the back, neck, or jaw.
- Heart palpitations: A racing or irregular heartbeat.
- Swelling: In the ankles, legs, or abdomen.
If you notice these symptoms, don’t ignore them. Seek further information and medical advice promptly.
Never ignore chronic symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath and tiredness.
How to Use the QRisk Calculator 💻
Using the QRisk tool is simple and empowering:
- Gather Your Data:
- Recent blood test results for cholesterol levels.
- Blood pressure readings.
- Information about your family history, weight, and height.
- Visit the Website: Go to QRisk.org and enter your details.
- Review Your Results: Your score will show your 10-year risk of cardiovascular disease:
- Low risk: Less than 10%.
- Moderate risk: 10-20%.
- High risk: Over 20%.
- Take Action: Use your results to start a conversation with your GP, or me, about lifestyle changes or preventive measures, such as statin initiation if needed.
Meet Mary: A Case Study
Mary, a 55-year-old retired teacher, had always thought of herself as healthy. She enjoyed gardening, walked her dog daily, and ate “fairly well.” But when she heard about the QRisk Score, she decided to do a heart health check. To her surprise, her 10-year QRisk revealed a 12% chance of developing CVD in the next 10 years – putting her in the moderate-risk category.
After discussing the results with her GP, Mary made some small but powerful changes: she swapped her butter for olive oil, ate more vegetables and less animal proteins, started brisk walking three times a week, and worked on reducing her salt intake.
A year later, her cholesterol level and systolic blood pressure improved significantly, and her QRisk Score dropped. Mary’s story is a reminder that knowing your risk can spark meaningful, life-saving changes.
Steps to Maintain a Healthy Heart 💖
Here’s how you can take charge of your cardiovascular health:
1. Adopt a Heart-Healthy Diet 🥒
Two proven dietary approaches are:
- The Mediterranean Diet: Think olive oil, nuts, seeds, whole grains, lean proteins, and plenty of colorful vegetables. Studies show this diet can reduce CVD events by 30%.
- The DASH Diet: Focuses on fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains while cutting down on salt and processed foods. It’s known to lower blood pressure effectively.
2. Get Moving 🏃♀️
Exercise is one of the most powerful ways to protect your heart. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, such as brisk walking, swimming, or dancing. Even small increases in activity can make a significant difference.
3. Monitor Your Health Regularly 🔧
Schedule regular check-ups with your GP to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and other key markers. Knowing your numbers is half the battle in primary prevention of CVD.
4. Manage Stress 🌿
Chronic stress can impact your heart health. Try mindfulness techniques like yoga or meditation, and make time for hobbies that bring you joy.
Think about it: Heart disease and diabetes, which account for more deaths in the US and worldwide than everything else combined, are completely preventable by making comprehensive lifestyle changes. Without drugs or surgery.
QRisk Update
Recent research led by the University of Oxford has built on earlier models. QR4 provides an even more precise way to predict an individual 10-year risk of cardiovascular diseases.
It includes seven new risk factors that reflect how other health conditions can influence heart health. These factors include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), learning disabilities, Downs syndrome, and four types of cancer (blood, lung, oral, and brain). Together, these highlight the broader connections between serious illnesses and cardiovascular risk.
Additionally, QR4 now identifies womam-specific risks for heart disease. For example, complications from high blood pressure during pregnancy and postnatal depression, which have been found to be strong predictors of future heart health challenges.
Final Thoughts
Your heart health is in your hands.
By calculating your QRisk Score, you can understand your 10-year CVD risk and take proactive steps to reduce it. Whether it’s tweaking your diet, getting active, or seeking guidance from your GP, small changes add up to big benefits.
Remember, it’s never too late to start. Take charge of your heart health today – because you deserve to live your best life, full of energy and vitality. ❤️
Dawn Rowland is an osteopath, nutritional therapist and founder of New Dawn Health. She guides and motivates women to improve current symptoms through diet and exercise, and ultimately enjoy a longer health span warding off the chronic diseases of modern living.
Caring and practical, Dawn will find a way to take you from where you are now to where you want to be.