Why heart disease is on the rise among younger women

By Evan Dawson,

Published March 19, 2026 at 3:48 PM EDT

Four people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a woman front left has long brown hair and is wearing a purple blazer, white blouse, black pants and black shoes; a man front right has short dark hair and is wearing a grey vest, white button-down shirt, jeans and brown shoes; a woman back left has long brown hair and is wearing a floral print blouse; a woman back right has long blonde hair and is wearing a brown blazer. — (foreground) Amanda Coniglio, (background) Jessica Driffill and Rebecca Schallek with host Evan Dawson on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Thursday, March 19, 2026

A new study shows that women who go through menopause before age 40 have a significantly higher risk of having heart attacks over their lifetimes, compared to women who don’t go through premature menopause.

That’s according to a piece in the New York Times published Wednesday. The research comes as the prevalence and deadliness of heart disease are on the rise for younger women, who may not recognize the warning signs.

This hour, we’re joined by clinicians who explain the research and what they want the community to know. We also hear from a local patient who shares her story.

Our guests:

Rebecca Schallek, M.D., Ph.D., FACC, assistant professor of clinical medicine in the Division of Cardiology and cardiologist with the Cardiac Care Women's Heart Program at UR Medicine
Amanda Coniglio, M.D., FACC, advanced heart failure and transplant physician at Rochester Regional Health
Jessica Driffill, heart patient