The Heart2Heart Foundation

02/09/2026

❤️ Menopause Changes More Than Your Cycle. It Can Change Your Heart Risk, Too.

Ladies, this is one of those conversations we need to be having.

New research continues to reinforce something important: **the transition through perimenopause and menopause can bring changes in cholesterol and other cardiovascular risk factors.**

As estrogen declines, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and triglycerides may rise—and some of those changes can become particularly noticeable around the final menstrual period.

Why does that matter?

Because heart disease risk doesn’t suddenly begin at 65. **The years surrounding menopause can be an important window to take a closer look at our cardiovascular health and our individual risk factors.**

And after nearly 10 years of Heart2Heart encouraging women to ** **, this message sounds very familiar. ❤️

Know your numbers. Know your family history. Talk with your healthcare provider about whether your changing age, hormones and other risk factors mean it’s time to take a deeper look at your cardiovascular health.

And remember: a routine cholesterol panel is important—but it may not always tell the whole story.

**Have you noticed your cholesterol numbers changing since entering perimenopause or menopause?** Were you surprised by it? Tell us below. 👇

❤️ Awareness. Action. Advocacy.
**The Heart2Heart Foundation**


**Source:** The recent review in *Maturitas* examines lipid changes during the menopause transition and the importance of cardiovascular prevention during this stage of life.

*This information is educational and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice.*

28/08/2026

# # # ❤️ Ten years of asking people to .

For nearly **10 years**, The Heart2Heart Foundation has encouraged people to talk with their healthcare providers about cardiovascular screenings that can reveal risks a routine cholesterol check may not tell us.

Now, the **2026 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guideline on dyslipidemia** puts even greater emphasis on earlier, more personalized risk assessment. Among the recommendations:

❤️ **Lp(a) should be measured at least once in adulthood.**
❤️ **ApoB may help identify additional risk in certain patients.**
❤️ **Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring can help clarify risk for appropriate adults when the picture isn't clear.**
❤️ Family history and other risk-enhancing factors matter, too. ([American College of Cardiology][1])

For us, this feels a little personal.

We've spent a decade trying to help people understand that **“normal” numbers don't always tell the whole story**—and encouraging them to ask better questions about their individual cardiovascular risk.

Medicine continues to evolve. The science gets better. The recommendations change.

But our message remains remarkably simple:

**Know your risk. Ask the questions. Get the appropriate screenings. . ❤️**

And remember: not every test is appropriate for every person. Talk with your healthcare provider about your personal and family history and which screenings make sense for you.

[Read the new guidance from the American College of Cardiology]
https://www.acc.org/about-acc/press-releases/2026/03/13/18/01/accaha-issue-updated-guideline-for-managing-lipids-cholesterol

ACC/AHA Issue Updated Guideline for Managing Lipids, Cholesterol Healthy lifestyle habits, earlier treatment to lower long-term exposure to plaque-causing lipids, new cholesterol target goals, selective use of coronary calcium scoring, lipoprotein(a) and apolipoprotein B testing, new treatments, and...

27/08/2026

❤️ **LADIES, WALKING IS GREAT — BUT DON’T FORGET YOUR MUSCLES. 💪**

We talk a lot about getting our steps in, but new research gives women another good reason to add **strength training** to the mix.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of **60 studies involving postmenopausal women** found that resistance training was associated with improvements in **blood pressure and resting heart rate**—without evidence of harmful changes to the structure of the heart.

And strength training doesn’t have to mean lifting heavy weights at the gym.

Think:
💪 Resistance bands
🏋️‍♀️ Light hand weights
🪑 Chair squats and sit-to-stands
🧱 Wall push-ups
🏡 Body-weight exercises at home

Especially as we move through menopause and beyond, maintaining muscle is an important part of maintaining our **strength, independence, metabolic health—and heart health.**

So keep walking. Keep moving. But maybe add a little muscle, too. ❤️

👉 **Read the research:**
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42470140/

23/08/2026

😴 Is your child tired — or are they not sleeping well?

Now that school is back in session, those early mornings and busy days may be revealing something parents didn’t notice quite as much during the summer: your child may not be getting the quality sleep they need.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reminds parents that poor-quality sleep doesn’t always look like a sleepy child. During the day, it can show up as:

😩 Hard-to-handle mornings
💤 Falling asleep after school
😠 Irritability or behavior changes
🎯 Trouble paying attention or “zoning out”
📚 Difficulty with learning or schoolwork

And there are things to watch for at night, too — including snoring, loud or heavy breathing, frequent waking, or consistently restless sleep.

As your family settles into the new school-year routine, this is a good time to pay attention to your child’s sleep patterns. If snoring, breathing problems, frequent waking or other sleep concerns persist, talk with your child’s pediatrician.

❤️ PARENTS: Has going back to school revealed any new sleep issues at your house? Hard mornings? After-school crashes? Irritability? Snoring? Trouble concentrating?

Share below — another parent may be noticing the same thing.

23/08/2026

❤️ A SIMPLE BLOOD TEST COULD HELP UNCOVER HIDDEN HEART FAILURE

This is exactly why we say .

New research published August 19 in JACC looked at adults age 40+ with diabetes who also had at least one additional risk factor for heart failure.

Researchers started with a blood test called NT-proBNP — a marker that can rise when the heart is under stress. When the level was elevated, participants received an echocardiogram.

The result caught our attention:

👉 Nearly 1 in 4 people in the screening group were diagnosed with previously unrecognized heart failure.

And most had HFpEF — heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, a form of heart failure that can be difficult to recognize. (JACC⁠)

These weren’t necessarily people who thought they had heart failure. Yet many of those ultimately diagnosed were already experiencing symptoms such as breathlessness and fatigue. (JACC⁠)

❤️ This is the heart of .

Too often, we wait until symptoms become impossible to ignore before asking what is happening inside our bodies.

Research like this reminds us that for people already at higher cardiovascular risk, there may be opportunities to look deeper and identify problems earlier.

This study does not mean everyone with diabetes should request an NT-proBNP test. Screening decisions should be made with your healthcare provider based on your individual risk.

But it does give us another important question to ask:

“Based on my risk factors, are there tests we should consider to better understand my heart health?”

Know your risks.
Know your numbers.
Ask questions.

❤️



The full study is available through JACC: TARTAN-HF study⁠.

READ THE REPORT:

NT-proBNP screening identified undiagnosed, symptomatic HF in 1 in 4 high-risk diabetes patients, with most cases classified as HFpEF.

20/08/2026

❤️ Waist measurement may reveal risk BMI misses …

A new JACC study reported by the American College of Cardiology found that waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio can identify cardiovascular risk that BMI alone may misclassify. The point isn’t appearance or weight loss; it’s that abdominal fat is metabolically important and BMI doesn’t show where body fat is carried.

READ MORE

Abdominal Fat Predicts Heart Disease Risk Better Than BMI Study shows BMI does not reflect overall body composition since central adiposity is not measured Aug 11, 2026 Font Size A A A Contact: Olivia Walther, [email protected] , WASHINGTON (Aug 11, 2026) - The size of a person’s midsection is a be...

18/08/2026

❤️ Heart health: even modest activity may matter for people with AFib

New research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association followed more than 87,000 adults and found that physical activity was associated with a lower risk of stroke or death even among people with atrial fibrillation. Benefits appeared at low-to-moderate activity levels, with greater benefit among more active participants. The study is observational, so it does not prove exercise caused the improvement.

Research Highlights: Being physically active was tied to a 9% to 19% lower risk of stroke or death for moderate to high physical activity levels, in an analysis of more than 87,000 adults in Norway. Study participants had nearly the same health...

17/08/2026

❤️ **HEART HEALTH: Heart failure isn’t just about the heart.**

New guidance from the American College of Cardiology is changing the way doctors think about **heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)** — a common form of heart failure in which the heart still pumps normally but doesn’t relax and fill as it should.

The updated guidance recognizes HFpEF as a **complex, whole-body condition** often connected with obesity, inflammation, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease and atrial fibrillation (AFib).

That matters because it reinforces something we talk about often at The Heart2Heart Foundation:

**Your numbers — and your risk factors — are connected.**

Blood pressure. Blood sugar. Cholesterol. Weight and metabolic health. Kidney health. Heart rhythm. Cardiovascular risk.

Looking at these pieces together — and identifying problems earlier — may help prevent or slow the progression of cardiovascular disease.

❤️ ** . Know your numbers. Know your risk. Take action.**

The ACC’s updated guidance also discusses newer treatment options and the importance of earlier recognition and individualized care.

👉 **Read more from the American College of Cardiology:**
[Updated ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway Addresses Management of HFpEF](https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/journal-scans/2026/07/22/17/25/updated-acc-ecdp-addresses-management-of-hfpef?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

*This information is for education and awareness and is not a substitute for medical advice from your healthcare provider.*


::: ([acc.org][1])

[1]: https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/journal-scans/2026/07/22/17/25/updated-acc-ecdp-addresses-management-of-hfpef?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Updated ACC Expert Consensus Decision Pathway Addresses Management of HFpEF - American College of Cardiology"

The updated 2026 American College of Cardiology Expert Consensus Decision Pathway for the Management of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction reflects a significant evolution in how HFpEF is understood and treated.

13/08/2026

❤️ Your cholesterol numbers can look “normal” — and you could still be carrying an inherited heart risk you don’t know about.

This is exactly why we continue to talk about Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), at The Heart2Heart Foundation.

Lp(a) is different from the cholesterol numbers most of us are accustomed to seeing. It is largely determined by genetics, stays relatively stable throughout life, and is NOT included in a standard cholesterol panel. About 1 in 5 people worldwide has an elevated level. (Medical Daily⁠)

And there is important news: the 2026 ACC/AHA guideline now recommends that every adult have Lp(a) measured at least once in their lifetime. (Medical Daily⁠)

That means you can have a good LDL number, eat well, exercise and do many of the “right things” — yet still have an inherited risk factor that you simply cannot know about unless it is tested.

This is especially important if heart attack, stroke or premature cardiovascular disease runs in your family.

Knowledge gives us an opportunity to act. Ask your healthcare provider about adding Lp(a) to your bloodwork.

❤️ . Know your numbers. Know your risk.

This article does a great job explaining why Lp(a) matters and what has changed in 2026:

Read the Medical Daily article⁠ below!

Lipoprotein(a) is roughly 90% genetic, fixed for life, and absent from standard lipid panels. New US guidance says test every adult once.

08/08/2026

Great morning talking heart health at the August Walk With a Doc with North Central Family Medicine!