In this powerful episode of the Hybrid Healing Hour, we sit down with Dr. Nadia Abelhad, Clinical Cardiologist and Women’s Heart Health Specialist, for an eye-opening conversation about cardiovascular disease in women — a topic that is still widely misunderstood and dangerously underrecognized.

Despite decades of awareness campaigns, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women — yet symptoms are often dismissed, misattributed, or missed entirely. Dr. Abelhad breaks down why this gap persists and what needs to change in both medicine and patient advocacy.

We explore how heart disease presents differently in women compared to men, from subtle symptom patterns to differences in underlying physiology, including microvascular dysfunction and inflammatory drivers that don’t always show up on traditional testing.

From a preventive cardiology perspective, we discuss the early warning signs women should never ignore — including unexplained fatigue, shortness of breath, jaw or back pain, palpitations, and changes in exercise tolerance — symptoms that are too often labeled as “just stress” or “hormonal.”

Dr. Abelhad shares how she empowers patients to advocate for themselves in medical settings, especially when their symptoms are minimized, and explains how hormonal transitions across a woman’s life — puberty, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause — uniquely influence cardiovascular risk.

We also dive into:

How inflammation and metabolic health drive heart disease in women

Why traditional risk calculators may underestimate risk

What true preventive cardiology should look like for women in their 20s and 30s

How lifestyle medicine, nutrition, and stress management can be integrated with conventional cardiology

Why women are more prone to Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection (SCAD) and how it differs from typical heart attacks

A discussion on stress-induced cardiomyopathy (Takotsubo syndrome) and its connection to emotional and physiological stress

This episode is both educational and empowering — offering science-backed insight while equipping women with the knowledge to take ownership of their heart health at every stage of life.

Whether you’re in your 20s and feeling “too young” to think about heart disease or navigating perimenopause and beyond, this conversation may change the way you view your cardiovascular health forever.


Dr. Abelhad's Info:
Holy Cross Hospital: 954-772-2136
American Heart Walk Donation: https://www2.heart.org/site/TR?px=15068577&fr_id=12628&pg=personal&s_src=nuclavismobile&s_subsrc=Nucl_iosM_FdrQRC
Instagram: @nadiaabelhadmd

Facebook:  Hybrid Medical Solution
Instagram: @hybrid_medical_solution
Website : www.hybridmedicalsolution.com
YouTube: @HybridMedicalSolution