Another great conversation with my colleagues across the pond in the UK. Phillipa Butler, our gracious host, provided timely questions and commentary for our discussion about an important topic for many perimenopausal women.
This was live-streamed on November 19, 2022 and now can be viewed on my YouTube channel – just select Discussions with Dr. B playlist. Enjoy, and please subscribe!
Preamble from Phillipa:
“In this episode we explore the topic of palpitations and heart health for women around menopause, what is happening, when to be worried, and how we can best take care of ourselves if no fault is found.
If your heart is beating ‘ten to the dozen’ or ‘missing a beat’ every now and again it could be just another symptom of the menopause. All three of us in this episode have experienced this unpleasant and sometimes worrying symptom for ourselves and since many menopause symptom checklists include palpitations (e.g. rapid, irregular, and/or exaggerated heartbeats) this should not come as a surprise. Research suggests palpitations are relatively common, up to 42% of peri-menopausal women and 54% of postmenopausal women report having palpitations.
Are women rushing to the doctors in droves? Probably not, we are shrugging our shoulders, saying ‘that was a bit weird’ and getting on with life. Although 44%–87% of women aged 40–59 years believed their palpitations required treatment there is currently no level 1 evidence to support managing menopause palpitations.
Why then if palpitations in peri- and postmenopausal women are common are they relatively understudied in comparison to hot flushes, then normalized and/or trivialized like many other menopause symptoms? Historically these symptoms have mostly been attributed to anxiety and stress rather than cardiac causes.
This may well be the case but I, for one, am not impressed by the lack of curiosity about palpitations in peri- and postmenopausal women. My recommendation is ‘if in doubt get it checked out!'”
Participants:
Phillipa Butler, Physiotherapist (UK)
Jacquie Whur, Clinical Hypnotherapist (UK)
Susan Baumgaertel, MD, Internist (US)