Most people think heart disease is obvious and predictable, yet women often present with completely different warning signs that traditional testing fails to catch. We now have the tools to identify risk decades earlier and reverse disease before it becomes dangerous.

In this episode of Extend, we sit down with Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, cardiologist and leading voice in women's cardiovascular prevention, to uncover why standard testing misses female heart disease, how microvascular dysfunction develops long before blockages appear, and why expanded markers like ApoB and HSCRP should replace outdated cholesterol panels. We break down the role of CLEERLY scans, the power of CPET for detecting endothelial dysfunction, and the exact metabolic shifts that happen during perimenopause and menopause.

We also explore how zone two training restores endothelial health, why soft plaque is more dangerous than calcified plaque, and how personalized exercise prescriptions can reverse early disease at any age.

Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum is a pioneering preventive cardiologist, founder of the ADESSO model for women's heart health, and a national leader in microvascular research whose work is redefining how we diagnose, prevent, and reverse cardiovascular disease in women.

What's Discussed:

(04:15) Why women experience heart disease through microvascular dysfunction rather than classic blockages
(07:50) How outdated cholesterol panels miss early cardiovascular risk in women
(12:40) Why ApoB, HSCRP, and metabolic markers reveal the real drivers of plaque
(17:05) How CLEERLY scans detect dangerous soft plaque that calcium scores miss
(22:30) Why standard angiograms often look normal in women despite real disease
(27:55) How CPET testing uncovers endothelial dysfunction and identifies true zone two
(33:20) How zone two exercise restores arterial flexibility and reverses early disease
(39:45) Why perimenopause, stress, sleep, and pregnancy history raise cardiovascular risk and demand personalized prevention

Thank You for Our Sponsors:

Timeline: 20% off your order. Go to timeline.com/drshah. That's timeline.com/drshah.

Learn more about Dr. Shah:

Website: https://www.drshah.com/

Clinic: https://www.next-health.com/

Instagram:@darshanshahmd

Learn more about Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum:

Website : drsuzannesteinbaum.com

Instagram: @drsteinbaum

X: @Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum

Linkedin: Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum

118. Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum: A New Roadmap to Female Heart Health

Extend Podcast with Darshan Shah, MD

118. Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum: A New Roadmap to Female Heart Health