Menopause and your heart: 4 risks doctors flag
Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death among women in the United States, yet many still underestimate their personal risk. Health experts say that misconception often delays diagnosis and treatment, especially because women may experience symptoms that differ from those commonly associated with heart attacks. While chest pain remains a possible warning […]
Ovarian cysts just got a simpler follow up rule
Ovarian cysts are turning up more often in postmenopausal women, largely because more people are undergoing imaging for unrelated reasons and cysts get spotted along the way. That discovery almost always triggers the same anxious question, whether the finding signals cancer. Updated clinical guidance from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists aims to answer […]
Mastectomy recovery includes loving yourself again
Breast cancer takes a toll that goes beyond treatment itself. For many women, some of the hardest parts to process are the physical changes it leaves behind, particularly hair loss and the alteration or loss of their breasts. What a mastectomy takes and what it doesn’t Breasts carry a strange weight in American culture, often […]
Stroke risk triples for Black women in their fifties
Stroke does not wait for old age the way many people assume, and for Black women, the timeline runs even earlier. Conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol, along with pregnancy complications and chronic stress, all show up more frequently in Black communities, and together they demand a level of vigilance that goes […]
Menopause is more than hot flashes and it starts earlier than you think
Menopause marks the point at which a woman’s menstrual periods stop permanently, ending the reproductive years. It is typically confirmed after 12 consecutive months without a period and most commonly occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. The underlying driver is a gradual decline in the production of estrogen and progesterone, two hormones that […]
All women deserve great sex and doctors are finally saying it
Sexual health has long occupied an awkward space in medicine, discussed in hushed tones if at all, treated as secondary to what gets called “real” health concerns. Nicole Cirino, M.D., is a reproductive psychiatrist, certified sex therapist, and co-director of the Menopause and Sexual Medicine Program at OHSU’s Center for Women’s Health, which is recognized […]
Why more pregnant women face life threatening heart disease
Heart disease was once considered a condition that mostly affected older adults, but medical experts are raising the alarm about its growing toll on women during and after pregnancy. According to the American Heart Association, one in four women between the ages of 20 and 44 has some form of cardiovascular disease, and heart disease […]
Is diet soda really worse? 6 surprising health comparisons
For years, diet soda has carried a reputation as the villain of the beverage aisle. Critics have blamed artificial sweeteners for everything from weight gain to chronic disease, while regular soda’s high sugar content has made it a target in the fight against obesity and diabetes. So which drink is actually worse for your health? […]
Mommy makeover reality — what nobody tells you before you go under the knife
Mommy makeover procedures have become one of the most searched cosmetic surgery categories among postpartum women, yet the gap between what people expect and what they actually experience remains significant. The term covers a range of surgical combinations typically including a breast lift with or without implants and some form of abdominal contouring, but the […]
Diastasis recti — what every mother should know about the ab separation nobody talks about
Diastasis recti is one of the most common postpartum conditions in the United States, yet a significant number of women who have it go years without a diagnosis, quietly accepting physical changes from pregnancy as simply part of the package. The condition involves a separation of the abdominal muscles along the midline of the body, […]