08/07/2026
Cholesterol panel ≠ full picture
Heart disease kills more women each year than all cancers combined — and only about half of women even know it's their #1 risk. After menopause, that risk climbs faster, as estrogen's protective effect on your blood vessels fades.
The catch: the labs most of us get once a year were never built to catch this early. Standard panels check total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, and triglycerides. What they usually miss: Apo-B (the actual number of artery-damaging particles), Lp(a), fasting insulin, and inflammation markers like hs-CRP.
Two women can have identical "normal" cholesterol numbers and very different real risk. The only way to know where you stand is to actually look.
CDC: In 2023 says heart disease caused 304,970 deaths among U.S. women — roughly 1 in every 5 female deaths it was responsible for the deaths of 304,970 women—or about 1 in every 5 female deaths.
Only about half of women — 56% — recognize that heart disease is their number 1 killer.
According to the AHA (American Heart Association), heart disease kills more women than all cancers combined.
DM "HEART" to book your cardiometabolic lab review.