Stacey E. Rosen

Rosen recommended chewing four baby aspirin while awaiting emergency services and telling responders you have done so.

“if you have baby aspirin in the house, take four of them and chew them”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 11:34

Rosen advised that anyone who suspects a heart attack should call 911 immediately rather than drive or wait it out.

“Do not wait, see if it passes by taking Tums. The moment you think you might be having a heart attack is the time to call 911”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 10:47

Rosen said women more often than men experience additional symptoms such as breathlessness, back pain or fogginess alongside chest pain.

“Women, though, as opposed to men, will have other symptoms at the same time. So it may be a little discomfort. Women don't like to use the word pain, but mostly breathlessness”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 7:57

Rosen cited exercise recommendations of 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week, stressing that any movement counts.

“But the recommendations are 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. And you could still carry on a conversation when you're walking, even if you're huffing and puffing”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 38:56

Rosen said there is nothing preventive about alcohol and that less is better for heart health, brain health and cancer risk.

“what I tell people is there's nothing preventative about having a glass of wine or any alcohol. So you never start thinking it's healthy for you”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 36:02

Rosen argued that women were excluded from early research partly because researchers doubted their ability to consent and equated women's health with reproduction.

“We didn't think they could give consent appropriately. We thought that women's health was just entirely related to reproductive health. And so we excluded them”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 6:02

Rosen said heart disease was historically viewed as a man's illness, so men were studied and treated while women's symptoms were minimized.

“We thought this was a man's illness. We studied men. We treated men. We even thought women didn't get the disease, so we minimized their symptoms”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 3:27

Rosen argued it is never too late for prevention, noting her healthy 87-year-old mother just started a statin.

“And it's never too late. My mother just started on a statin. She is 87 years old”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 1:03:37

Rosen cited a statistic that only 44% of American women know heart disease is their biggest health risk, with lower awareness among Black and Hispanic women.

“Only 44% of American women know that heart disease is their biggest health risk. And when we divide that to black women and Hispanic women, the numbers are even lower”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 58:10

Rosen suggested a coronary calcium score for people with risk factors, generally not before 40 unless there were pregnancy complications, family history or diabetes.

“If you have very little, probably not before 40, honestly. If you had pregnancy-related issues, then you should do it younger, you know, in your 30s”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 53:27

Rosen said new guidelines call for using the PREVENT calculator and target an LDL below 100.

“We want everyone's LDL to be less than 100, and that's very different than where we were in the old days”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 48:17

Rosen called statins inexpensive with minimal side effects, comparing early treatment to saving for retirement, and disclosed she takes one herself.

“It's literally like saving for your future. And the medications are inexpensive, minimal side effects”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 49:17

Rosen said GLP-1 drugs have revolutionized cardiovascular medicine through effects on blood pressure, cholesterol, inflammation and blood sugar.

“GLP-1s are, you know, truly revolutionized healthcare and cardiovascular medicine”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 30:16

Rosen said menopause hormone therapy is not recommended for primary prevention of heart or brain disease because benefit has not been shown.

“It is not recommended for primary prevention. So no one starts it for heart and brain health”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 27:04

Rosen criticized the response to the WHI hormone trial, saying it was shut down rather than recalibrated, leaving women panicked and doctors unwilling to discuss hormones.

“We shut it down. It was horrible. And then the whole concept of hormone replacement continued. got women panicked, got doctors unwilling to even discuss it”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 25:32

Rosen explained that microvascular disease can cause heart attack damage without any arterial blockage, a mechanism long missed in women.

“So microvascular disease can cause all the damage of heart attacks without obstruction, without a blockage”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 22:05

Rosen described pregnancy as a cardiac stress test and said complications like gestational diabetes raise future risk even if they resolve.

“About 5 to 10% will have gestational diabetes, blood sugar abnormalities. And even if that goes away after childbirth, you are still at higher risk”

Next Question with Katie Couric: The Art Of Aging: The Heart Of The Matter (Oct 6, 2026) · Listen from 17:11