Menopausal women at increased risk of heart disease

Women are being encouraged to be proactive about their heart health as they approach the menopause.

Heart disease is the biggest killer of women worldwide but it remains “underdiagnosed and undertreated", say doctors.

The risk to women starts to increase at the time of the menopause because of hormonal changes.

Marie Dunne, who has cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle, says women need to look after their hearts and not ignore symptoms.

"We do MoTs on our cars, we need to do our own MoTs," she said.