Women’s Health Pt. II: Heart Health

Image credit: American Heart Association

Truths & Tips About Women’s Heart Health (start time: 7:33)  February is American Hearth Month, a nationwide observation  spotlighting cardiovascular disease, and a call for all of us to take care of our hearts. 
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the country, for both men and women, and for most racial and ethnic groups. In fact, it kills more women than all forms of cancer combined. A big problem is that many physicians don’t typically tell female patients about risk factors and symptoms when they are in their 30s and 40s. So no wonder many women develop symptoms that remain hidden until crisis hits. To help shed light on what researchers are discovering about how women can detect symptoms and lower their risks of heart disease, we welcome back to the show health journalist Meghan Rabbit, after we discussed women’s health, and particularly menopause, last week. Rabbitt is the author of the new book, The New Rules of Women’s Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age. She is an editor of Maria Shriver’s weekly digital newsletter, Sunday Paper

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer: Beth Bennett
Headline Contributors: Beth Bennett, Joel Parker, Shelley Schlender

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Women’s Health Pt. I: Menopause, etc.

New Rules of Women’s Health (start time: 6:26) If you’re female, you may have come of age reading the landmark feminist health book Our Bodies, Ourselves. Originally published in the 1970s, it yielded several revised editions up to 2011. Well, get ready for an even more comprehensive tome. It’s called The New Rules of Women’s Health: Your Guide to Thriving at Every Age, and it was published last month by Maria Shriver’s The Open Field Imprint of Penguin Random House. It’s part guidebook, part manifesto. In this week’s How On Earth, host Susan Moran interviews the book’s author, journalist/editor Meghan Rabbitt, focusing on how to take charge of your health before, during and after menopause. (We’ll continue our conversation next week with Pt. II, with a focus on brain health research and practices.) Rabbitt is the executive editor of Maria Shriver’s weekly digital newsmagazine, The Sunday Paper.
-Headline on the Trump administration’s plans to dismantle the National Science Foundation’s National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., and how you can voice your opinion with NSF during the public comment period ending March 13. (Email: nsf_ncar@nsf.gov)

Hosts: Susan Moran, Joel Parker
Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineer: Joel Parker
Executive Producer & Headline Contributor: Beth Bennett

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Menopause, Hormone Therapy, Science

Menopause & HT (start time: 0:58)  It happens to every woman with a uterus who reaches midlife. Menopause is a major hormonal  transition that, although very challenging for some women, is natural, and (get this!) even  advantageous to civilization. Think grandmothers!  Yet menopause has been largely dismissed by the medical community. As a result,  too many women suffer through menopause in pain, shame,  and loneliness. In this week’s show, host Susan Moran  interviews Dr. Jen Gunter, a gynecologist and specialist in chronic pain medicine. She wrote the book  The Menopause Manifesto (2021), and she’s among a growing cadre of medical practitioners who are pushing to bring more information to women about what to expect during menopause and about treatment options, including hormones.
Resources: The Menopause SocietyAustralasian Menopause Society

Host/ Show Producer: Susan Moran
Engineers/technical assistants: Shelley Schlender, Maeve Conran
Executive Producer: Susan Moran
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