Heart Disease Kills More Women than All the Forms of Cancer Combined

This episode of the Oprah podcast is. presented by our partner, Geico. We're. starting to see headlines that. cardiovascular disease is impacting. younger and younger women. >> I had just turned 30 and I taught a. fitness class that morning and I was. experiencing a STEMI heart attack. >> Wow. >> Three stances were placed in my heart. I. then went into cardiac arrest and I. needed multiple rounds of CPR and. shocks. They told my husband I needed to. be lifellighted to a different hospital.

>> Well, nearly 60% of black women just 20. years old and older are living with some. form of cardiovascular disease. That. stat knocked me out. That is a wakeup. call. Hi everybody. So great to be here with. you on the uh Oprah podcast. Think about. this. During the time that you listen to. this podcast, roughly 35 women in the. United States will have a heart attack,

35. We hear this this this stat all the. time that heart disease is the number. one killer of women in America, killing. more women than all the forms of cancer. combined. And yet it seems like it gets. nowhere near the urgency and focus of. breast cancer or menopause or. infertility as it relates to women's. health. And now we're hearing that it's. impacting younger women in higher. numbers. So I asked one of America's.

leading cardiologists to come on the. podcast so that you can have all the. latest and essential information to. protect your one and only heart. And if. you're a woman listening, please pay. strict attention. Dr. Tara Narula is a. board-certified cardiologist, journalist, chief medical correspondent. at ABC News, the New York Times. bestselling author of The Healing Power. of Resilience, a new prescription for. health and well-being. Glad to have you.

here on the porch. >> Thank you so much. Oh, I love this idea. of um the healing power of resilience. and I want to hear how we can actually. tap into that. I want to know what you. how you define resilience. >> It's a great question and when I was. researching the book Oprah, a lot of the. psychologists have different definitions. of what resilience is. Yes. >> And so for me it was important to come. up with my own based on my experience as. a physician, as a human, as a.

journalist. And so I love the concept of. resilience being the idea that you never. ever go back backwards back to who you. were. So. >> I loved this. I love this. >> and I and I like to frame it in the idea. that you bounce forward to something. new. I use the analogy in the book of. Michelangelo who says that he carved the. marble until he set the angel free. And. so this concept that we are the marble. and we are the angel. constantly. evolving and being shaped by what. happens to us in life, but that what. happens to us can not pause us and.

freeze us in time and paralyze us. We. can actually grow and move forward and. create a beautiful life, a life where we. can thrive and grow and suck all the. meaning and joy out of every single day. And that is my hope for my patients, for. people who read the book, is to say no. matter what life throws our way, no. matter what challenges, we can bounce. forward. We have that skill. >> And I think I I I love your definition. because so many people want to go back. to the way things were, whether it's in.

in in regards to your health or whether. it's in regards to relationship. I say. to my friends who are going through, you. know, divorce, you know, you will create. a new normal. That's right. And you will. come through it and you will not be the. same person you were. You're going to be. a stronger person than you were. And. that's part of what resilience is. whether it's relationships or whether. it's your personal health. >> That's exactly right. And the book is. really meant for anyone going through. any challenge because at some point in. time we will all go through something. whether as you said it is a divorce, a.

loss, a death um or a disappointment, >> a disappointment or a health challenge. Um, and you know, I see this in my. patients when I walk in the room and. they have had a stroke and they can't. move the right side of their arm or. they've had a heart attack and they have. heart failure and they look at me and. they wonder, "When am I going to be. myself again?" This is what they ask me. And I tell them, "You will never ever be. yourself again." But you can be. >> We won't be that self. >> We won't be that self. >> You will be another self, another. version of yourself.

>> that can still have quality of life and. meaning. That's what people want, Oprah. They want to still be able to enjoy. every day, to see the sunset, to call. their best friend, to really, as I said, take all the pure enjoyment out of every. single day they can have. >> So, I want to just jump into some of the. basics about women's heart health for. you all. And I know you've heard it, but. I want you to actually take it in. Not. just listen to what we're saying, but to. absorb. You know, I didn't realize that.

heart disease is really an umbrella term. until reading your book that many things. fall under this. So, what falls under. this? >> So, cardiovascular disease is a broad. term and it encompasses things like. heart attack, electrical problems like. atrial fibrillation. It encompasses. heart failure, valve disease, stroke. So, it's all of these things under this. big umbrella term. And as you said in. the opening, it is the leading cause of. death for women in this country. One out.

of every three women, Oprah, are dying. from cardiovascular disease. These are. our sisters, our friends, our mothers, our colleagues. And I think it just has. not become personal enough for people. I. think that there is a lack of awareness. And what I would hope that every. listener would do right now is to close. their eyes and picture the faces of the. women that they love. because these are. women that we're going to lose, that are. not going to have the birthdays with us, that are not going to go to the.

graduations, we're not going to be able. to be at their weddings. So all of those. moments in life with the women that we. love, they can be gone in a heartbeat, >> I think. And also because so many people. misread what it means to have a heart. attack or have heart disease because. everybody thinks unless you have the. burning sensation in your arm or unless. all of a sudden you can't breathe that. it's not a heart attack. But the. symptoms show up in so many other. different ways. Can we talk about that? >> Absolutely. So by far and away the most.

common symptom in women of a heart. attack will be chest pain or pressure. Okay. So, first of all, that's important. to know. But it doesn't have to be the. type of very sharp, strong chest pain. that makes you fall out of your chair. It can be a sensation like my bra is. just on too tight. I feel something. heavy or pressure or tightness or. squeezing here. It can also look like. jaw pain or neck pain or shoulder pain. >> or stomach pain, you. >> stomach pain. And then when we think. outside of the chest pain, there are.

other symptoms that women can have like. shortness of breath, right? I'm a little. bit winded when I go up the stairs or up. a hill or when I'm walking fast. It can. be fatigue, which is another one. >> Start to feel fatigue and people just. ignore it. They just ignore it. >> I can't exercise as much as I used to. I'm nauseous. I'm breaking out into a. cold sweat. I'm dizzy. I'm feeling my. heart skipping or fluttering or racing. Any or all of these symptoms I always. tell women it's really important to pay. attention to because you may be told.

that it's acid reflux. You may be told. it's all in your head or it's anxiety. And I always say it's so important to. rule out. >> A lot of women are told by their doctors. that their symptoms are anxiety. >> So many women and it's missed. And the. problem is when those heart cells die or. those brain cells die, you can't get. them back. But if you can catch. cardiovascular disease or heart disease. early with preventive measures, we can. prevent the actual events. >> So what should a woman do when she feels. like something's off? But I've told this.

doctor and I've told this person, I've. said this, but I still feel like I'm. being dismissed. >> You have to listen to your body and. listen to yourself and you need to find. a doctor that listens to you. And if. that means getting a second opinion or a. third opinion, that's what you have to. do. I see a lot of women who come to me. and say, "I was blown off by the last. doctor I saw. I was told that it was all. in my head." You have to advocate and. push and fight for your health, and you. have to trust your body. Our listeners. tell us that the podcast is resonating.

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dear listener is everything. This is another another another stat. that really was really enlightening for. me. Women who've given birth you say. pregnancy acts as a crucial stress test. or window into a woman's future. cardiovascular health. How so? So I I. think it's first of all important for. women to understand that we have risk. factors Oprah at every point in our life. starting as early as 11 or 12 years old.

If you had early periods or irregular. periods you are at increased risk of. cardiovascular disease. That's at as an. 11 or 12y old. Then we think about what. happens to women in their 20s and 30s. There are female specific risk. >> You're at risk for cardiovascular. disease. >> if you had early periods which of course. most women don't know. When you think. about your 20s and 30s, you may have. heard about high blood pressure and. diabetes. But let's talk about female. specific risk factors there. And those. would include polycystic ovarian.

syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease. like Crohn's or ulcerative colitis, migraine, uh autoimmune conditions like. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and even. psoriasis, a skin condition, and then. pregnancy. So what happens during. pregnancy is a marker of future risk. So. if you have had preeacclampsia, eclampsia, gestational diabetes, a baby. that was born early, miscarriages, a. baby that was small for gestational age, these are markers of future risk of. cardiovascular disease. And.

unfortunately, most women don't get told. this while they're pregnant and they. don't get connected to a cardiologist. after to make sure that they know how to. manage that risk. We think about in a. woman's 30s, 40s, 50s, breast cancer for. example and the treatments they might. receive like radiation or chemotherapy. that can damage the heart. >> Are you more more prone to. cardiovascular risk after a pregnancy? >> So if you have had one of those things. that I mentioned, yes, you are at. increased risk of cardiovascular. disease. And then we think about early.

menopause and menopause. So this whole. arc of a woman's life matters in terms. of figuring out her cardiovascular risk. So, like I said before, we're starting. to see headlines that cardiovascular. disease is impacting younger and younger. women. Kayla is joining us on Zoom right. now. She was just 29 when she started. feeling that something was wrong. Hi, Kayla. Welcome. >> Hi. Thank you for having me. >> Yes. What happened at 29?

>> Yes. In 2022, I was a 29-year-old. special education teacher. I lived a. very busy life. I was also working at a. tech startup on the side. Wellness was. very important to me. So, I was also a. fitness instructor on top of that. So, like many women, juggling a lot of. competing priorities that would be very. stressful. In May, I started to. experience pain between my shoulder. blades. It was on and off at first and. then it eventually radiated to my chest. >> Where where exactly could you point? Let's see. Between your shoulder blades.

Yeah. >> Yep. In between my shoulder blades. So, turning around right back here. And then. eventually it did radiate to my chest. but. >> wow. >> to the point where it was very dull like. it wasn't. ah I'm having a heart attack feeling. Um. so when I had gone to the doctor because. I am otherwise healthy and no. traditional risk factors I was told that. it was likely attributed to my anxiety. that I'd already had and acid reflux.

which I had never experienced before. Even though I did know something was. wrong. In August, the symptoms were much. worse. I was exhausted constantly, feeling very weak. And August 22nd, I. had gone to the emergency room because. by that point, I also experienced jaw. pain. >> Wow. All the things that you described, things you talked about. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Yep. >> At that point, I had just turned 30 and. I taught a fitness class that morning, so I did not fit the picture of someone.

having a heart attack. So I was not. immediately taken back. By the time I. was taken back, I had already had a 100%. blocked heart. The entire left side of. my heart was shut down and I was. experiencing a STEMI heart attack. >> Wow. >> I was immediately rushed to the Kath. lab. Three stances were placed in my. heart. I then went into cardiac arrest. and I needed multiple rounds of CPR and. shocks. At that point, they told my.

husband I needed to be lifellighted to a. different hospital that has ECMO, which. is the highest form of life support. It. essentially acts as your heart and lungs. when your body needs to rest. So, at. that point, I truly believe there is. >> First of all, we're lucky to have you. here. God bless that you're here. That. you're here. Wow. >> Yes. There's definitely a mindbody. component I think that came into play at. that point because ECMO gets a pretty. bad rap. People don't come off ECMO. Um.

it's usually a last stitch effort. And. my ability to come off ECMO, I do. believe it's when my mind body. connection kind of came into play. I did. spend a month in the ICU though. The. cause of my heart attack was SCAD, which. is stands for spontaneous coronary. artery dissection. Essentially, it's a. spontaneous tear in your artery wall. If. it's caught early, it's often managed by. uh medications and then it can heal on. its own. In my case, it was not caught.

early enough. So, I thank you for being. so open and candid and sharing with us. because somebody is listening to us. right now, I guarantee who has been. feeling the same thing, experiencing the. same thing, and they're like, "Oh my. god, let me get myself to a doctor right. now.". >> Absolutely. >> And and and one of the key things that. you said here, and Dr. Narula. was was agreeing, I see you nodding, is. that you felt something was off. You. felt something was wrong. Yes.

>> Yes. We as women, we know our bodies. best. I think we've all said that right. now. Dr. No, you said that as well. >> And I now live with heart failure. And. so my biggest thing, I am more. intentional with my life than I ever. have been at this point. >> I, you know, I'm intentional with my. time, who I give my energy to now. And I. give my permission, myself permission to. say no and set boundaries. And my hope. is that women who are listening because. we are in a society where we are.

constantly being pushed. Women could. give themselves permission to slow down, listen to their bodies, advocate for. themselves because it is really. challenging when after the fact you have. to grieve a version of yourself. You. were talking about it before that you. think that you just want to get back to. normal. And for that first year it was. about survival for me. It was grieving a. version of myself that I had lost and. learning how to trust my body again and. managing that fear. So I think for me it. was over time just really redefining.

what strength and resilience means in my. life. >> And that meant not pushing through. everything and truly knowing when to. pause and listen. >> Yeah. Would you consider yourself Yeah. a model for this book now that you are. you you have experienced the healing. power of resilience? I definitely have. I I feel better now. Even though I have heart failure, I feel. better now. Like I'm stronger now than I. was preheart. And I think that is. because I'm so intentional with again.

how I spend my time and who it's with. and for the decisions I make for myself. I'm truly putting myself first and I. didn't before. >> I want to know, do you have a question? You have a question for Dr. Lurola? >> I do. I do. Dr. Dr. Nurola, from a. cardial uh cardiovascular perspective, how do chronic stress, constant. busyiness, and just the pressure for. women to constantly keep it all together. affect their heart health? And what do. you wish more women understood about. that connection?

>> First of all, I'm so happy that you're. okay. And second of all, I hope everyone. sees this is the face of cardiovascular. disease is what I'm talking about. It. looks like all of us. I think you said a. couple other things which I think are. really important to point out before I I. get to stress which is that women we say. in cardiology have been underststudied, underdiagnosed and undertreated. So we. know that women come to the emergency. room with chest pain, they will wait. longer than men. They are less likely to. receive guideline directed medical. therapy and treatments. This is a. problem. So we need to work on it from. the medical establishment side. Um, and.

then I think what you mentioned about. stress is so critical. And to be honest, that was really the impetus in so many. ways for writing this book was to. recognize how much of a threat stress is. to all of us in our daily lives. And we. don't talk about stress. We say it's. this amorphous thing that's really bad, but it really truly has an impact on our. body. The mind body connection that. you've talked about. So stress was. designed to help us survive. We have a. stress response that's innate that's. built in so that when we see a predator, for example, in the wild, if we're an.

animal, we have our heart rate go up, our blood pressure goes up, we turn off. all functions that are not necessary, like digestion and reproduction. The. issue is that we're meant to then turn. it off once we've escaped something. that's chasing us. We're meant to turn. it off. In our daily lives, we are. turning on our stress response all the. time, every minute, for all kinds of. little insults. I got a bill in the mail. that I don't didn't want to see. I may. be um in trouble with my job. Something. happened with my child. And that. constant chronic stress is damaging.

everywhere. But to our cardiovascular. system, we turn on hormones like. epinephrine and norepinephrine. We turn. on hormones like cortisol that increases. inflammation. And we have studies that. show that stress will increase the. ability of a plaque that may be stable. in your arteries to rupture. It will. increase arrhythmias. It increases blood. pressure. It increases your risk of. having not only scad spontaneous. coronary dissection that is one of the. risk factors but also stress induced. heart attacks. There's actually a.

phenomenon of a stress induced heart. attack. So stress is something that we. all have to do a better job navigating. And that is why I wanted to write the. book about the resilient response that I. talk about which is to say yes we have. this stress response but we also have. the power to get back to homeostasis to. turn it off to dial it down by. activating the resilience that we have. inside of us. >> I wanted to ask you too because uh the. whole process you know Dr. Dula talks. about people getting to the moment of.

acceptance and I being such a young. woman was it difficult for you at first. to accept and I you use the word so. freely here of I've had heart failure I. have heart failure I'm a woman who has. had heart failure was that hard for you. at first. >> oh yes I as I don't like to be told no. for things. >> and I was very much of that first year. in the I will prove them wrong stage. >> and grief is not linear. So you at one.

point think you are proving them wrong. and then of course you have a bad day. >> Yeah. >> And I think you talked a lot about it. this at the beginning where you again. you grieve the old version of yourself. because you want to get back to that. person but they no longer exist. So for. me, being told no was that I couldn't be. who I was. And I didn't know for the. longest time what the point was. And I. think there's a mental health component. to this that you have to make the.

decision to figure out what you want to. do and who you want to be moving. forward. And I'm still a fitness. instructor. I teach something completely. different now. >> And I am so happy. I am so fulfilled. because of it. But I had to actively. make that decision. >> to to move forward and decide what I was. going to be after this because being 30. years old and knowing that I had the. rest of my life, I didn't want to live. it in fear and that first year was truly. that and it was very challenging.

>> Yeah. I I I ask it because when I was. going through menopause. and later discovered that I had a. thyroid issue and I remember someone. giving me heart medication and I. remember thinking, well, I'm too young. to have heart medication. The idea of. even like having to take heart. medication was a reminder that you're. not who you think you are. You're not. what your body what you think your body. can do. And so when you use the word. heart failure so openly, I was wondering.

whether or not that was a transition for. you. >> I fought them on my medications for a. while because I wasn't taking any prior. to that. >> And I had a very hard time adjusting to. the fact that I had to take these. medications to help my heart's pump. function. Otherwise, if I didn't take. it, I we don't know what would happen. depth.

>> And uh now I take my little pill pack. everywhere with me. And I think with a. little bit of you know with the. acceptance part of it, I talked about it. a lot. I talked a lot about a lot of my. struggles and I think that actually. helped me. >> Yeah. >> talk about the dark parts. Yeah. >> And that also helped me to be okay with. being on medication and to find the new. me outside of it. But I was very angry.

in that first year. >> And Kayla, you're the perfect example. because I'm sure you actually use the. word grieving who you were. And I'm sure. you went through all of those stages of. grief, you know, shock and denial and. anger and bargaining and then finally. reached the point of acceptance. And. that's when you're able to turn the. corner and and and and change the. trajectory for yourself. >> Absolutely. I fought it for two and a. half years cuz I'm 3 years out now. And. strangely enough, the moment that I.

reached acceptance was when I realized. that cuz I was trying to constantly. improve my heart, improve my heart's. function, your ejection fraction, >> until I realized something flipped in my. brain where I'm like, "Oh, they are. actually focused on making sure it. doesn't get worse." Yeah. >> And it hit me when I realized that I. couldn't, you know, have children. And. >> that moment I was like, "Okay, well then. if I can't have children and my heart. I'm focused on it not becoming worse, what what is my life now?" And.

>> that acceptance piece was right there. >> I learned that very lesson um I wrote. about in the book when I was in medical. school and I lost vision in part of my. eye and it was the same story and it was. my mother sending me the serenity. prayer. Um, God grant me the. >> Before you all even knew it was a. serenity prayer. >> before. Correct. And her words really. changed my ability to accept that. You. know, listening to the serenity prayer. helped me to walk through my own. diagnosis and that's how I know how. important it is to accept.

>> Yeah. I I'm I'm I'm hoping people will. get the book, The Healing Power of. Resilience. But the one of the major. factors in being able to move forward in. your life, whether it is a medical or. any other crisis, is getting to the. point of accepting that this is what it. is. Now, what do I do with it? Now, how. do I use this? >> Exactly. >> Thanks, Kayla. Really enlightening. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Well, nearly 60% of black women just 20. years old and older are living with some.

form of cardiovascular disease. That. stat knocked me out. >> Yeah, >> that is a wakeup call. >> You know, it should be a wake-up call. We need a wakeup call in this country. for all women of color because all women. of color over at increased risk of. cardiovascular disease, but black women. in particular. There's actually a new. report by the American Heart Association. and they forecast that by 2050 70% of. black women will have hypertension, 70%. will have obesity, and almost 25 to 30%.

will have diabetes. And that's higher. than any other group. >> Higher than any other group. They they. have the highest rates of cardiovascular. disease, the highest rates of stroke and. heart failure. Least likely to really. get treated, diagnosed, highest death. rates. >> Listen to that again. We black women. have the highest death rates, highest. rates of heart disease, highest rates of. diabetes, >> obesity, and hypertension. >> Wow. >> And it's a big big problem. And we need. to do better in this country to address.

this. Um because you know there are ways. that we have to address it but we have. to understand where this comes from and. I. >> where is it coming from? Yeah, I think. well a lot of it is driven by those risk. factors, right? So we can get better. control in the risk factors, but we talk. about this term. >> a lot of stress, carrying everything, correct? Being the bread winner. >> We talk about this. >> repressing all of your feelings, not. really. Yes. >> Intersectionality. Yes. This idea that. there are social determinants of health. that we are more than just, you know, my. hypertension and my diabetes. We are.

what is my income level? What zip code. do I live in? Do am I do I live. somewhere rural? Do I have access to. food? Do I face racism and. discrimination constantly? So all of. that over. >> what am I up against? >> What am I up against? All of that. translates into stress. >> Yes. >> Stress that we've been talking about. that activates and damages our. cardiovascular system. >> And all of that just sort of embeds. within your cells. And there you are. Stacy's on Zoom. She's been nodding. Hey.

Stacy. Hello. Hello. Hello. In Chicago. Tell us your story. Uh, thank you so. much for having me. I'm so excited to. share my story with you. Uh, so I am. that black woman that you were just. talking about. I am married for 38 years. to my high school sweetheart. We have. six sons and 12 grandchildren. And my. weight has been a struggle my entire. adult life. And I knew that I needed to. do something about it. My mother had. suffered two strokes. So I knew that. that was potentially something I was.

going to have to be concerned about for. my future. And so, um, I, you know, had. tried every diet, done everything, and. told my doctor, I was like, "Hey, you. know, something's not right. I'm I'm. exhausted. Um, I I'm aching. My feet. hurt. My ankles hurt. I'm inflamed. Like, everything something's wrong." And. my doctor wasn't listening. So, I went. to a weight loss center and said, "Okay, maybe they'll listen because this is. what they specialize in." Because I knew. I needed to get the weight off. Um, and. you know, menopause came and she brought. 20 pounds with uh her friend of 20.

pounds. And so I said I. menopause menopause came and brought her. friend. >> Yes. >> And I said I I can't do this. I can't. continue to do this. >> Girl, I can't deal. >> Yes. >> No thank you. We are not participating. So um I ended up getting on a GLP1 in. October of 2024 and it was a godsend. I. mean I definitely had all of those. things you were talking about. I had the. high blood pressure. I had the high.

cholesterol. Um again the the. inflammation in my body with the planner. fasciitis walking around in pain waking. up exhausted after sleep I was. pre-diabetic. So I got on that GLP1 in. October of 2024 and in the first week I. lost 10 pounds of just inflammation and. the pain was gone like my feet. I had. gone through uh cortisone shots and. physical therapy and the pain that I was. trying to get away get out of my body. through that I lost and that that 10. pounds because the inflammation was.

gone. And so I've lost 80 lbs since. October of 2024 and I just feel amazing. and I know that my health is better. my. ability to have energy. I took up. Pilates, which was something I never. thought I could do, but um you know, just taking better care of my health. because I I have 12 grandchildren I want. to be around for and and have energy to, you know, play with and I know that uh. losing that weight was going to be key. uh to my health. >> Congratulations. First of all, you know,

I know that struggle. >> We have walked this walk together. >> I know that struggle. So, congratulations. 80 pounds is That is. That is pretty phenomenal. >> It's a blessing. It really. >> It's a blessing. It's a That is some. work, girl. That is some work. >> So, the question that I have is I've. obviously seen some wonderful benefits. of taking a GLP-1. Um my blood pressure. has normalized. My cholesterol has. dropped tremendously and is also getting.

into good numbers. um what are some of. the heart benefits that I can um expect. as a result of being on a GLP-1 and. losing the the weight? >> Yeah, first of all, congratulations. Um. that is incredible. >> and you know GLPS have revolutionized. how we are able to care for our patients. and I've seen it in my practice over the. last year and a half. Patients just like. you losing up to 80 pounds um and really. reversing their risk. And so you know we.

knew that drugs like we go v right or. ompic have cardiovascular benefits. It. has an FDA indication for that reduction. of cardiovascular disease. But there was. a big study that came out in October. It. was 17,000 patients the select trial. that had known cardiovascular disease no. diabetes who were overweight and obese. And they basically found that no matter. whether you started out overweight or. obese, there were cardiovascular. benefits that what the weight loss. >> GLP went.

>> Yes. That the weight loss that you had. in those first three months didn't. predict the cardiovascular benefits. So. if you ended up losing more later, that. belly fat seemed to be a big part of. risk. So losing belly fat seemed to. help. However, and this is where it gets. interesting, the belly fat loss only. explained about a third of the. cardiovascular benefits, which tells us. that belly fat. If you have belly fat, particularly as a woman, that's even. more dangerous. Right. Correct. And. you're more susceptible to having a. heart attack. >> Exactly. But that 2/3 of the benefits. were not from losing belly fat. They.

were not from the weight loss, which is. exciting because it means that the GLPs. are having effects outside of the weight. loss on the cardiovascular system. So, the researchers and those who study this. hypothesize it could be for several. reasons. Number one, it's decreasing. inflammation. >> Okay? It's lowering blood pressure and. cholesterol. It's affecting the lining. of the blood vessels to make them. healthier. And maybe it's even changing. how the fat is working in our body. So, it's doing all of these things outside.

of just losing weight. Eventually, these. I think may become cardiac drugs, not. weight loss drugs. So the same way that. I give my patients a statin or a blood. pressure medicine, if they're not. overweight or obese, but they have. cardiovascular disease or they're at. high risk, we might end up giving them a. GLP. It has completely changed the ball. game for how we're able to care for our. patients. And thank God because we need. more tools to help lower risk. >> Not to mention how good you feel about. yourself. I mean, doesn't didn't it just. change everything the way you felt about.

yourself? >> 100%. Um, you know, I got so tired of. the yo-yo. Yeah, >> you lose the weight and then, >> you know, you change the way you're. doing it and then the weight comes back. on and it's just, oh my gosh, I'm I'm so. done with that. So, so thankful. >> My 80-year-old mother started taking. GLPS. >> Your 80-year-old mother? >> Yes. And she struggled with her weight. her entire life. You're never too late. It totally changed how happy she is, how. she's able to function in her 80s. So, I.

think, you know, at any stage of the. game, this is a conversation people. should be having. Should I be on a GLP? >> Yeah, >> it it's so helpful. >> Stacy, thanks for sharing with us. Thank. you so much. Congratulations on your new. outlook on life and the new vitality and. all that comes with it. >> Denille is joining us from New York. She's a patient of Dr. She's a one of. your patients. She is okay. Dr. Narula, I hear you were having the classic. symptoms of menopause. Menopause came a.

call into you too. uh but felt that. there was something deeper going on. Something was off. What was happening. with you? Share. >> Dr. Nula really really paid attention to. the things that I had said to her. >> and the way that I was feeling. And I. said something to her about um a. particular time where I had just had. dinner with my family and we were. running up to go catch a show and by the. time I got to the theater I literally. could barely I I could barely walk. Um,

and that was the heaviness and the per I. was persspiring and I was nauseous and I. was dizzy and I just kept thinking, "Oh. my goodness, I shouldn't have eaten had. I I can't eat stuff anymore. I have to. go on a diet.". >> And I I just really dismissed it so so. heavily. But when I told that to Dr. Nula, she whipped her beautiful face. around and stared at me and she said, "Denille, please tell me tell me exactly.

how you were feeling." And I, you know, I I really wasn't kidding because I was. concerned. And she said, "Okay, I'm. going to order this test for you." And. so she did. And by the time I came home. from the having taken the test, I had. just walked through my my front door. My. phone rang and it was Dr. Nula. And she. said to me, "Where are you? It's you you. have to come back here." She said, "But. it's looking too serious, I don't think, but I'd like to check something and I'd.

also like for your husband to come with. you.". >> And um I went in I I had the procedure. done over at Northwell Lennox Hill. And. when I woke up from the procedure, the surgeon said to me, "Do you know. when your birthday is?" And I said, "Yes, my birthday is July 26th." And I. thought he was trying to like see. whether or not I was like okay from the. anesthesia. And he was so pleasant and. sweet. And he said to me, "Well, I'd. like for you to take this day, December.

28th, 2018, and change your birth date because. you would not have lived more than 2. weeks." And none of that would have. happened had I not had Dr. Narula. because I had been saying to my regular, you know, primary care physician, I. don't feel well. I was getting. embarrassed at saying it repeatedly. >> Yeah. When you were saying, "I don't. feel well," were you being dismissed or. were you told it was just anxiety? Were. you told? >> What were you told?

>> Both. Well, a little weight and like, you know, a little tap on the shoulder. You know, a few pounds wouldn't do you. too bad. >> Yeah. >> And it was just being wrapped around. menopause. And yet I did have the other. symptoms, you know, the, you know, spiring, um, uh, sleeplessness, things. like that, but I just didn't feel well. And when I said all of that to Dr. Narula, I will never forget how she. looked at me and and just decided to.

just hear me and being heard by her. And. I'm told that because I have met some of. her patients, I went to the book signing. that she recently had. >> and was I managed to was there? >> Yeah. And I managed I didn't Yeah. I My. entire family came. Oh, we made a big. party out of this. >> Um and so it was great. It was great. And I I. >> I see why you say you thank her for. saving your life because had she not.

listened, you would have continued on. that circuit of going to your physician. and the physician saying, you know, a. few pounds wouldn't do you any harm. And. and. >> yes, >> yes, >> it was shameful. I would feel. embarrassed almost as though like I was. contributing to that like okay you know. you really have to not okay the way. >> anyone else's doubt caused you to have. doubt yourself or or to reassess for. yourself.

>> well thank you so much what a very. >> and congratulations on your new birthday. December 28th. >> December 28th your new birthday. >> makes me a lot younger. >> fantastic thank you Dale Let's talk. about high blood pressure. It's known as. a as a silent killer. I don't think. everybody understands how that impacts. everything else in your health, particular cardiovascular health. >> Tell us. >> It is one of the most preventable risk. factors for cardiovascular disease. And.

people should start women especially. having their blood pressure checked in. their 20s. It is a number that you. should know. A normal blood pressure, Oprah, is 120 over 80 or less. 120 to. 130 is actually already considered the. start or the beginnings possibly of. early hypertension. Once you cross the. threshold of over 130 over 80, that is. considered high blood pressure. >> What's the most important number? The. top number, the bottom number. >> Both are important. And I see a lot of. patients who have seen doctors for years.

and were told, "Oh, your blood pressure. is fine. It's fine." And then I look at. their chart and it's not fine. It's been. 136 over 85, which is why you should. write down the number. And definitely, you know, we talk about the value of. seeing a cardiologist, but the. cardiologist will definitely look at. your blood pressure and tell you if it's. well controlled or not and what you can. do about it, right? And so the what you. can do about it, there are lifestyle. ways to control it, whether that's. exercise, weight, low sodium diets, diets that are higher in um potassium. can help, avoiding alcohol, or.

medication. And sometimes it's both. Um. but blood pressure is so important, as. are all of the other risk factors. >> Yeah, I was resistant. I was I was like. uh our earlier guest Kayla. I was. resistant to the idea of having to be on. the medication because the medication. means now you need medication. But I. have a history of it in my family. Father had high blood pressure. Mother. had high blood pressure. Every aunt, uncle, grandparent has had blood high. blood pressure. It's a fact. >> And you can feel fine. That's the.

problem. >> And you can feel fine. >> You can feel fine. But it is damaging. the blood vessels to every part of your. body. your eyes, your kidneys, your. heart, your brain. So, it is so. important to control it even if you feel. fine with things like medication. >> I know because you don't even know you. don't even know when it's high unless. there's lots of stress. Yeah. >> And I always tell my patients, I know. you don't want to take medicine, but. what if we get you on it and you don't. even notice you're taking the medicine? How great would that be that we get you. on something that's controlling your. blood pressure and you still feel the. same, right? And a lot of it is trial. and error, working with people to get.

them on something that they can really. tolerate. The other thing I know you. talk about in uh in the healing power. resilience is that the uh the the the. connection to faith to spirituality to. purpose to hope all of that contributes. to your having a meaningful life and. also beating the odds of of risk of. heart disease. >> It is. And so, you know, when I was.

designing the book and we were talking. about what are the steps towards. building resilience, a lot of them have. been talked about a lot in the worlds of. psychology like flexible thinking and. optimism and acceptance and all of that. But there were several that I wanted to. include that I've seen and I know are. important from my patient care. Um, and. those are the things that are. intangible. The hope, the spirituality. and faith, the purpose, the love and. social connection. all of these things. that are external to us or kind of. bigger than us that help drive us. forward and pull us forward when we are.

in the dark and we can't find our way. out. Um, I put purpose as the last tool. in my kind of toolkit there. Purposefully, I call it the lighthouse, Oprah. You know, it is what calls us. forward when we're stuck, when we. wonder, how can I go on? What what is my. what is the meaning of me being here? And all of us have some sort of purpose. inside of us. Some of us never went. after it because we didn't think we. should. And the a journey like a health. scare opens your eyes to saying, I.

should pursue that purpose. And some of. us find it based on what happens to us. We become an advocate for that cause. Um, but all of those intangible. concepts, Oprah, are so powerful and. meaningful. You know, love, another one. that was very important for me to put in. the book. Um, I love the story from the. Christopher Ree documentary that I put. in there where he says to his wife Dana, like maybe we should let me go. And she. says to him, you know, I'm only going to. say this once, but you're still you and.

I love you. And he said those words. saved him. Sometimes it's just words and. knowing someone's there that can save. us. That power of some other human being. in our life. >> Tell me why it was important for you at. this time in your life to write this. >> I am such a huge believer Oprah in the. mindbody connection. Okay. I believe in. the power of our abilities to overcome. what happens to us in life. And I have. always sort of lived my life this way. You know, I I look back the opening.

quote in that book is from my high. school yearbook page. I am the master of. my fate. I am the captain of my soul. >> One of my favorite Invictus. >> And I had it on my yearbook page at the. age of 16 as my quote. I believe we have. this innate strength and power in us to. overcome what happens. We're just not. told that. Nobody tells us how strong we. are. And I wanted to write this to help. everyone and my patients and people who. are struggling with medical challenges. to know that no matter what happens, not. only are we most of us innately. resilient, we carry that gift with us,

but it is something that we can build, we can grow, we have that power. And I. want to empower people to know that they. can do that no matter what happens to. us. They can thrive, Oprah, in life. That is so important. >> Well, you are a living example of that. And I will have to say that the American. Heart Association. uh created what they call the life's. essential eight. >> The ninth should be stress. I'm I'm. pushing for that. But yes, eight. >> Life's essential eight. And it's a.

checklist to improve cardiovascular. health. What What are they? >> Yes. So we think about the first four. Let's talk about which are the numbers. So controlling your blood pressure, your. cholesterol, your blood sugar, and your. weight, your body mass index. Then we. think about things that you're doing. So, exercising, eating a healthy diet, avoiding smoking, and sleep. Sleep was. the one that they added. It used to be. seven. They added the eighth, which was. sleep several years ago. >> Tell tell Gail King that real quick. >> Gail, if you're listening, please, I. need you to sleep more than 4 hours.

It's so important. Um, but yes, sleep is. a it's a time where we think we're our. body's inactive, but actually a lot of. things are happening during sleep. Um, but if you can work on those essential. eight, you will lower your risk of. cardiovascular disease. 80% of. cardiovascular disease is preventable by. lifestyle changes. The only things you. can't control are your age and your. family history. So that's so important. again so empowering. If we find things. early, if we get on the road for. prevention for women, for people, we can. have a huge impact. And that's what we.

have to start doing is targeting this. process earlier and early and early. And. we have so many great screening tools, Oprah, that so many people don't know. about. They think about their mammogram. and their colonoscopy. We have ways to. screen people to help identify those. that are at higher risk. >> If there was a ninth, what would you. want them to add? >> Stress. I I remember sitting at a. lunchon with Nancy Brown who's the. president of the AHA. She has one every. year and this was a few years ago when. they added sleep and I raised my hand. and I said, "I'd like to know why stress. is not on that list because it is so.

important and we as we talk about it. really affects the cardiovascular. system." and she put me in touch with. the man who was a cardiologist in charge. of the guidelines and we had a phone. conversation and he said you know you're. right it is really important we just. don't have the research there to push it. to the top to get it as the ninth but. eventually I think we will. >> it will be on there. >> it will there's no doubt in my mind that. it will be and I hear it when I walk in. the room the first thing I say to my. patients is how are you and you know. what they're telling me they're not. telling me their blood pressure or that. they missed their medicine they're.

telling me they're stressed they're. anxious they're depressed they're. telling telling me everything about. what's happening up here. How can we. possibly help heal people if we're not. addressing all of that other stuff. that's going on that's having an impact. on the physical part of their bodies? >> Well, thank you. Thank you for for for. your work and this really thoughtful. book, The Healing Power of Resilience is. available anywhere. Books are sold. And. I also want to thank our guests, Kayla. and Stacy and Danell for sharing their.

heart stories with us. They actually. were heart stories and no matter your. age, I hope you begin to take your heart. health seriously. Thank you. Go well. everybody. Go well. And thank you to our. friends at Geico for presenting today's. episode. I want to remind you again, heart disease is the number one killer. of women in America. If you want to know. more about what you or your loved ones. can do to protect yourself, and learn. why resiliency is the key to building. your physical and mental health, scan.

the QR code, buy a copy of Dr. Narula's. New York Times best-selling book, The. Healing Power of Resilience, a new. prescription for health and well-being. Take good care of your one and only. heart. Our listeners tell us that the. podcast is resonating with you and is. serving as a bright spot in your day. That means a lot to me. So, here's the. thing. I would really appreciate it if. you like and subscribe to the Oprah. podcast on YouTube or wherever you. podcast. It's it's just a quick tap of.

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