Wear Red for Women
This phenotype was published in recognition of Wear Red for Women®, highlighting how cardiometabolic risk in women is often signaled years before disease appears — and frequently missed.
The Heart Truth® | NHLBI, NIH
Case Presentation: Cardiometabolic Blind Spots in a 40-Year-Old Woman
Case A: The "Protective HDL" Illusion (Age 40)
A 40-year-old woman presents to her primary care clinician for a routine wellness visit.
She feels well overall. She exercises 3–4 days per week, maintains a busy professional and family life, and delivered her second child five years ago. During her last pregnancy, she developed gestational hypertension, and her blood sugars were noted to be mildly elevated, though she did not meet criteria for overt gestational diabetes.
She was reassured at the time: "This happens in pregnancy. Everything should normalize after delivery."
Her menstrual cycles are regular, but she now notices subtle changes: poorer sleep, more difficulty maintaining weight, and feeling less resilient to stress. She wonders whether this could represent early perimenopause.
Her family history is notable for:
- A father with a myocardial infarction at age 56
- A paternal aunt with coronary stents in her early 60s
| Lipid Panel (Age 40) | Result | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| LDL-C | 115 mg/dL | "Borderline — nothing to worry about" |
| HDL-C | 110 mg/dL | "Phenomenal — very protective" |
| Triglycerides | 135 mg/dL | "Normal range" |
She is reassured again: "Your HDL is phenomenal. Your LDL is fine. You're too young to worry about heart disease."
No further testing is ordered.
Case B: When the Phenotype Shifts (Age 50)
Ten years later, the same woman returns — now age 50.
She is perimenopausal. Her weight has increased modestly, particularly around the abdomen. She exercises less consistently due to work demands and poor sleep. She has not developed diabetes, but her fasting glucose and A1c have slowly drifted upward.
| Lipid Panel (Age 50) | Result | Change from Age 40 |
|---|---|---|
| LDL-C | 112 mg/dL | Essentially unchanged |
| HDL-C | 58 mg/dL | ↓ 52 mg/dL drop |
| Triglycerides | 185 mg/dL | ↑ 50 mg/dL rise |
Her BMI is mildly elevated. Her blood pressure is trending upward. She is told: "Some of this is just menopause."
Phenotype Evolution: Two Snapshots, One Trajectory
| Feature | Age 40 | Age 50 |
|---|---|---|
| HDL-C | 110 mg/dL — "protective" | 58 mg/dL — declining |
| Triglycerides | 135 mg/dL — "normal" | 185 mg/dL — rising |
| LDL-C | 115 mg/dL — borderline | 112 mg/dL — unchanged |
| ApoB / non-HDL-C | Never ordered | Never ordered |
| Lipoprotein(a) | Never tested | Never tested |
| Fasting glucose / A1c | Normal postpartum | Drifting upward |
| Blood pressure | Normalized after pregnancy | Trending upward |
| Visceral adiposity | Minimal | Increasing |
| Clinical response | "You're too young to worry" | "Some of this is just menopause" |
Flying Under the Radar
This woman represents one of the most common — and most overlooked — cardiovascular phenotypes: the midlife woman with reassuring numbers and underestimated risk.
Several forces collide at this age:
- Short-term (10-year) risk calculators remain low
- High HDL-C creates false reassurance
- Pregnancy history is often ignored once childbearing ends
- Subtle metabolic changes of perimenopause begin years before cycle changes
The result is a missed opportunity for early prevention.
Why Risk Calculators Fail This Patient
Risk calculators:
- Are heavily age-driven
- Focus on 10-year horizons
- Do not adequately account for pregnancy-related cardiometabolic disease
- Ignore HDL dysfunction, ApoB discordance, and Lipoprotein(a)
This woman remains labeled "low risk" — despite accumulating high lifetime risk.
Atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic disease are driven by cumulative exposure over decades, not by short-term thresholds.
The Hidden Phenotypes Beneath "Normal" Lipids
Early Signal: Dysfunctional HDL (Case A)
In her early 40s, this patient's very high HDL-C (110 mg/dL) appeared reassuring. However, HDL-C concentration does not measure HDL function.
Very high HDL-C levels — particularly when paired with a family history of premature ASCVD or prior pregnancy-related cardiometabolic complications — can reflect dysfunctional HDL. In this state, HDL particles are inefficient at reverse cholesterol transport and may fail to provide the protection traditionally attributed to HDL.
This is a classic setup for false reassurance: the number looks exceptional, while risk quietly accumulates.
Phenotype Evolution: Early Atherogenic Triad → Metabolic Syndrome (Case B)
By age 50, the lipid pattern has shifted. Her HDL-C has declined, while triglycerides have risen into the 170–200 mg/dL range. LDL-C remains relatively unchanged and appears only borderline elevated.
This pattern reflects an early form of the atherogenic triad, characterized by:
- Rising triglycerides
- Declining (now relatively low-for-her) HDL-C
- Likely discordance between LDL-C and the true burden of small, dense ApoB-containing particles
She now also demonstrates:
- Rising fasting glucose and A1c
- Increasing visceral adiposity
- Elevated blood pressure
Together, these findings meet criteria for metabolic syndrome, a cardiometabolic state driven by insulin resistance and strongly associated with accelerated atherosclerosis in women.
| Metabolic Syndrome Criteria | Threshold | This Patient (Age 50) |
|---|---|---|
| Waist circumference | >35 inches (women) | Increasing visceral adiposity ⚠️ |
| Triglycerides | ≥150 mg/dL | 185 mg/dL ⚠️ |
| HDL-C | <50 mg/dL (women) | 58 mg/dL — trending toward threshold |
| Blood pressure | ≥130/85 mmHg | Trending upward ⚠️ |
| Fasting glucose | ≥100 mg/dL | Drifting upward ⚠️ |
Grundy SM et al. Diagnosis and Management of the Metabolic Syndrome. Circulation 2005;112:2735–2752.
Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the AHA. Circulation, 2011.
This is not a new disease — it is the natural progression of previously unrecognized risk.
Pregnancy Complications Are Cardiovascular Signals
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and dysglycemia are not transient inconveniences — they are early manifestations of cardiometabolic vulnerability.
In this patient:
- Gestational hypertension signaled early vascular dysfunction
- Mild pregnancy-related hyperglycemia suggested emerging insulin resistance
Although these abnormalities improved postpartum, the underlying biology did not disappear.
Women with a history of gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or impaired glucose tolerance have substantially increased long-term risk of:
- Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD)
- Chronic hypertension
- Type 2 diabetes
- Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
Catov JM et al. Pregnancy complications and later-life cardiovascular disease. JACC 2018.
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Circulation 2011;124:1606–1614.
Lipoprotein(a): The Silent Genetic Multiplier
Given her family history, this patient could have elevated Lipoprotein(a) — a genetically determined, causal risk factor for atherosclerosis.
- Often invisible on standard lipid panels
- Disproportionately affects women later in life
- Frequently discovered after an unexpected event
Failure to screen leaves risk unexplained — until it declares itself.
Coronary Artery Calcium: Seeing the Disease Earlier
At age 40, traditional guidelines often discourage further testing. But in women with family history of premature ASCVD, metabolic risk features, and pregnancy-related cardiometabolic conditions, coronary artery calcium (CAC) may provide powerful insight into lifetime risk trajectory — even when short-term risk appears low.
A CAC score above zero at this age is never benign.
CardioAdvocate™ Checklist — Questions to Ask
How to phrase it: "I know my short-term risk is low, but I'd like to understand my lifetime risk — especially as I approach midlife."
Deep Dive
This is a living section — a deeper exploration of the science behind this phenotype.
Triglycerides as a Risk Signal
Rising triglycerides are not merely a dietary issue. They are a marker of insulin resistance, ApoB particle burden, and residual cardiovascular risk. In women approaching midlife, triglyceride levels can shift dramatically due to hormonal changes, insulin sensitivity, and visceral fat redistribution — often while LDL-C remains deceptively stable.
Triglycerides and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the AHA. Circulation, 2011.
HDL-C vs. HDL Function
HDL-C concentration does not reflect HDL functionality. Both very low and very high HDL-C levels may be associated with increased cardiovascular risk depending on particle efficiency and inflammatory context. The concept of "the higher the better" has been largely abandoned in modern lipidology.
High-density lipoprotein and coronary heart disease: current and future therapies. Nat Rev Cardiol.
Biological Consequences of Dysfunctional HDL. J Lipid Res.
Pregnancy as a Cardiovascular Stress Test
Pregnancy unmasks susceptibility to endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational dysglycemia are now recognized as cardiovascular risk enhancers, not isolated obstetric events. The 2019 ACC/AHA guidelines explicitly include pregnancy complications as risk-enhancing factors.
Catov JM et al. Pregnancy complications and later-life cardiovascular disease. JACC 2018.
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. Circulation 2011;124:1606–1614.
Metabolic Syndrome and Female-Specific Risk
Metabolic syndrome accelerates atherosclerosis in women and strongly predisposes to HFpEF — a condition with limited disease-modifying therapies once established. HFpEF disproportionately affects women and is strongly linked to hypertension, insulin resistance, visceral adiposity, and microvascular dysfunction.
Grundy SM et al. Diagnosis and Management of the Metabolic Syndrome. Circulation 2005;112:2735–2752.
The Role of Discordance
When triglycerides rise and HDL-C falls, LDL-C becomes a less reliable indicator of actual atherogenic particle burden. ApoB and non-HDL-C capture the full spectrum of atherogenic lipoproteins — including small dense LDL, VLDL remnants, and IDL — that LDL-C alone misses. In this patient, ordering ApoB or non-HDL-C at either visit could have unmasked hidden risk.
Phenotype Cross-Links
This phenotype connects directly to:
When high HDL-C misleads and protection fails.
Triglycerides, HDL decline, and ApoB discordance.
Genetic risk hiding behind "normal" labs.
Seeing disease before symptoms.
Why gestational hypertension and dysglycemia matter long after delivery.
When insulin resistance becomes the central driver.
The downstream consequence of unrecognized metabolic risk in women.
Why ApoB matters more than LDL-C.
The Bottom Line
This woman did not develop heart disease suddenly.
She accumulated risk predictably — across pregnancy, midlife metabolic change, and shifting lipid phenotypes — while being repeatedly reassured that her numbers looked "fine."
Wear Red for Women isn't just about awareness.
It's about recognizing patterns early — and changing the trajectory before disease declares itself.
If you've been told everything looks fine, it's reasonable to ask:
"Fine for whom — and for how long?"
That question often changes the conversation.
Content on CardioAdvocate.com is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. No physician–patient relationship is created. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
