Think Menopause

Next Monday, I will be leading a petition debate on the important topic of statutory menstrual leave for women with endometriosis and adenomyosis.

Over 1.5 million people in the UK are affected by these chronic conditions. Yet the average endometriosis diagnosis time is 9 years and 4 months and workplace adjustments and help for these conditions is far below what it should be.
This is not just the case of ‘painful periods’ as such conditions are often dismissed as, but a chronic health, social and equality issue that must be given the attention it duly deserves.

If you are interested in watching this debate, it will be televised live on Parliament TV at 16:30 on Monday the 13th of April.

Thank you to all those who have helped bring this debate together – your support combating this issue of health and inequality cannot be overstated.

This International Women’s Day we’re celebrating the achievements of women everywhere, but also recognising where inequality still affects women’s lives. A stark example is cardiovascular disease — the biggest killer of women globally.
Today we’re sharing two major research funding initiatives trying to turn that around.

SHE-HEALS is a global study, funded by a subgroup of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders' Forum including BHF. It aims to understand the subtle but important artery changes that happen during menopause, so we can act earlier and better protect women at this stage of their lives.

VISIBLE is a multi-million programme led by Wellcome Leap and jointly funded by Pivotal, with support from BHF. It focuses on a different challenge: millions of women around the world live with unexplained and often severe chest pain, but following standard tests are told their arteries look normal. VISIBLE aims to make the condition many of these women live with — coronary microvascular disease — visible and diagnosable, so more women get the treatment they need.

These programmes represent a major push to close gaps in women’s heart health and ensure women get the answers, care and outcomes they deserve.

“Menopause is a tipping point, when women’s risk of heart disease accelerates."

- Professor Ziad Mallat, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Cambridge.

A new global study, awarded $10 million by a collaboration of major international cardiovascular research funders including us, will investigate the changes in arteries that begin during perimenopause and drive increasing heart disease risk.

The team will also launch the largest clinical trial of its kind to test whether earlier prevention can stop or even reverse the progression of atherosclerosis.