In a CBS Miami Morning Edition segment, Dr. Tiffany Di Pietro discusses the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women campaign, emphasizing that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women. She explains that while risk increases with age, screening should begin as early as 40‑50, especially for those with a family history of early heart disease. Pregnancy introduces physiological changes—up to a 50% increase in blood volume—and conditions such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia raise long‑term cardiovascular risk, prompting earlier screening. Menopause does not cause heart disease but the drop in estrogen removes a protective effect, increasing risk. Dr. Di Pietro highlights three key numbers to monitor: LDL (bad cholesterol), blood pressure, and blood sugar, and stresses the strong genetic component of heart disease, urging patients to know their family history. She advocates for proactive communication with doctors, asking questions, and being one’s own health advocate. Finally, she outlines warning signs for stroke (slurred speech, facial droop, unilateral weakness) and heart attack (chest discomfort, pressure, left‑arm or jaw pain, unexplained fatigue), noting that women may experience atypical symptoms.
Chapters
This is CBS News Miami Morning Edition.
Go Red for Women is a movement to create awareness for women's heart health. This is a cause that is near and dear to my heart because I happen to have a heart condition and a history of heart issues in my family. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of women each year. One in three women are killed each year from the disease and can affect you at any age. But you can prevent heart disease from taking you or one of your loved ones. Joining us this morning to make to make sure you know the facts is Dr. Tiffany Di Pietro. Thank you for joining us.
Thanks for having me.
Yes, we have many questions, and one misconception that women may have is about heart disease is something to worry about when you're older. What demographic sees the most cases, and when should women start getting screened for cardiovascular disease?
That's a great question. I actually see a lot of younger people in my practice, but I would say generally To your point earlier, we do see more cardiovascular disease as we get older. We see that for women and men as we get older. However, it is very individualized. So if someone has a family history of heart disease, mom or dad at a younger age, they should definitely be screened younger. So I would say generally I tell women between the ages of 40 and 50 is a good time to kind of step back and say, maybe it's time to see a cardiologist, look at my risk factors and, and what I might be predisposed to.
Well, yeah, my father, as I've mentioned to you earlier, has had some heart issues in his past, and so I knew that I had to make sure to monitor my numbers and get screened and make sure that I saw a cardiologist. Now, should expecting mothers be even more concerned about their risks?
Yes and no. So pregnancy is a beautiful natural thing, but it can be kind of dangerous. It causes a lot of physiologic changes in the body to the point where, you know, we see a big belly, but we don't realize kind of what comes along with that big belly. So the blood volume goes up upwards of 50% in a pregnant woman. And we also see about a 10 to 20% of pregnant women have increased heart and health issues. They get diagnosed with a new health issue during pregnancy. So it is something to be aware of. In particular, women that have gestational diabetes, which means that they are— their blood sugars go up during pregnancy, they have preeclampsia or high blood pressure during pregnancy, have a statistically significantly elevated risk of having earlier cardiovascular disease in their life or cardiovascular disease in general. So we do see that blood pressure tends to go up, not in all pregnant women, but if you are one of those pregnant women or you were pregnant and your blood pressure went up or your blood sugars went up, probably should start getting screened for cardiovascular disease a little earlier in life.
Oh, that's helpful information. Now, can menopause cause cardiovascular disease?
Oh, the pendulum is really swinging back on this one.
So we're going to the other extreme.
Yeah, you know, um, simple no. So menopause doesn't cause cardiovascular disease, but what happens during menopause, and any woman who's been through menopause knows, is your estrogen levels start to drop and we lose a protective effect of estrogen. So what does estrogen do in the cardiovascular system? It helps to dilate the vessels and decrease inflammation. So when we lose that protective estrogen, then we have an elevated risk for cardiovascular disease. So it doesn't cause the cardiovascular disease, but it's one of the reasons why we see it later in women than we do in men.
Okay, so when getting screenings, you always hear that you need to know your status and know your numbers. I know in my case, I I have had a high cholesterol and it's in my genes basically. So those are numbers that I need to closely monitor when I get any blood work done. What numbers should we track and be aware of when it comes to heart disease?
So I just have to say, you're the perfect picture of this. Meaning, you're very thin, you're very fit, and you have high cholesterol. It doesn't matter what you look like all the time. It just can be genetics.
Exactly.
So cholesterol for short, in particular the LDL. Think of L for lousy. So LDL being the bad cholesterol. Blood sugar and blood pressure. Those are the 3 biggest numbers when you go to your doctor, you should say, what are they? Let me write them down. What should it be? What do I need to do to get the numbers better?
Yeah, I actually have to take statins every day to help keep my cholesterol down and just to be safe.
And people look in the mirror and they say, oh my, this couldn't be me, look at me. And it is, you know, there's a very, very big genetic component to cardiovascular disease, and it's so important to know your family history. Cannot stress that enough today.
Absolutely. Now, what are the risk factors that we as women can take control of?
You know, like, to my point, it's It's really the same risk factors for everybody. It's the, it's the blood pressure, it's the blood glucose, it's the cholesterol. But I think what I try when I, when I do these talks in media, when I go on the news and I talk about cardiovascular disease, the most important thing is talk to your doctor. Have an open conversation with your doctor. Spend time with your doctor. Tell them everything and then leave it up to the doctor to kind of siphon through and see what's important. Ask questions. You can never ask enough questions to your doctor and be involved. I see so many patients that'll come in my office, listen to me, and just leave. And I get almost frustrated that they're not asking me the questions back. You are your biggest advocate for your health, and that's very important.
Now, one thing I did want to discuss, and this is a big part of Go Red for Women, is what are the symptoms that women should look for when it comes to a heart attack or stroke?
So stroke, along the lines, is pretty similar for everybody. So we see slurred speech, facial droop, inability to move one part of the body, or one part of the body is very weak. One side of the body is really more important. For heart attacks, The overwhelming symptom amongst everybody, men and women, is chest discomfort. And I hesitate to use the word pain because a lot of people will not say pain when they come to the hospital. They feel a pressure or discomfort. They can't point to it with one finger. It's kind of there, kind of like a charley horse if you get in your leg, but in your chest or in your heart. It's very uncomfortable. Left arm pain, kind of same thing. You kind of can't shake the pain out. Jaw pain. Very, very, very tired for no reason at all.
Okay.
So all of the other blood counts are normal, you didn't just run a marathon, and you're extraordinarily fatigued and exhausted can be a symptom of women having a heart attack.
All right, so you heard it from Dr. Di Pietro. She is giving you all those signs to pay attention to, and thank you for all the helpful information and for being with us today as we continue to spread awareness about the importance of heart health in women. Thank you for having me.
