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You can lift heavy. You can eat clean. You can run businesses, households, and entire teams — and still be at risk for heart disease.

In this episode of Everything’s Messy Podcast, I dives into a hard but necessary truth: strength does not equal immunity. As a heart attack survivor, I unpack the hidden risks facing high-functioning women — from chronic stress and nervous system overload to silent inflammation and blood sugar instability.

This conversation builds on last week’s HRV episode and explores what’s happening beneath the surface when your body looks strong but your system is under strain.

I breaks down:
• Why lean, active women can still carry cardiovascular risk
• The impact of cortisol and chronic stress on arteries
• How overtraining and under-recovering affect heart health
• Tactical steps to protect your heart without burning out

If you consider yourself driven, resilient, and capable — this episode is especially for you.

Your body whispers before it screams.

Listen in, share with a strong woman in your life, and let’s protect our hearts — physically and emotionally.

As promised below is the episode where we learn about nasal breathwork.

***Episode 93 How To Use Breathwork To Reclaim Your Energy w/Guest Tim Thomas

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💖 We are officially in February, heart month, birthday season for me 🎉, and somehow Southern California forgot it’s supposed to be cold… but I’ll allow it (for now). This episode is a mix of real life updates, heart health truth bombs, and some very doable tools you can actually use—no perfection required 🙌

I’m officially four years post–heart attack and wow… typing that still hits. I’m beyond grateful to still be here, still spreading this message, still riding this messy wave 🌊 Another trip around the sun is coming up and I’m soaking in every bit of gratitude. Life is wild, fragile, and beautiful all at once.

Since it’s heart month ❤️, we’re going deeper—starting a likely two-part series—into something most people aren’t talking about enough: HRV (heart rate variability) and how it reflects your nervous system. This is especially important for women, because yes… heart disease is still the number one killer of women, and chronic stress is wrecking our recovery.

Here’s the truth bomb: if your nervous system is stuck in fight-or-flight, your heart can’t recover properly. Low HRV means your body is stuck in stress mode, energy debt, poor sleep, slow recovery, mood swings, blood sugar chaos, inflammation… sound familiar? 😬 Been there. Lived it.

I break down why you can’t “out-sleep” a broken recovery system 😴 Why waking up tired, sore, foggy, and wired isn’t laziness—it’s your nervous system begging for help. And why working out harder isn’t the answer when your HRV is low (trust me, I learned this the hard way).

The good news? 🎉 HRV is trainable. You are NOT stuck. And no, this doesn’t require fancy supplements or extreme routines.

I walk you through three simple, powerful resets you can start immediately:
☀️ Morning sunlight within 30 minutes of waking (no sunglasses, no phone)
💧 Proper hydration with electrolytes or warm liquids (bone broth lovers, you’re winning)
🚫 Removing ONE hidden HRV drain—late-night screens, food, alcohol, or overstimulating conversations

This episode is about listening to your body, reducing pressure, and giving your heart and nervous system the tools they need to heal and thrive 💓 If all you take away is permission to be gentler with yourself and still make progress… that’s a win.

Try one thing. Let me know what you’re working on. DM me, message me, find me at @everythingsmessywellness—I want to hear from you 💬

Remember, messy warriors: perfection burns us out, but grace keeps us going ✨

*****As promised the episode mentioned with Dr. Huberman: Episode 112, "How to Breathe Correctly for Optimal Health, Mood, Learning & Performance"*******

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Hey my messy warriors 💖🫀

On this episode of Everything’s Messy Podcast : February is Heart Month, and this one is close to my heart—literally. Six days before I turned 43, I had a heart attack, and while I’ve shared pieces of my story before, this episode isn’t about the origin story. It’s about the data. The raw, uncomfortable, mind-blowing facts about why heart disease is quietly devastating women—and why so many of us have no idea it’s happening.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for women in the United States, killing more women than all forms of cancer combined. Let that sink in. Nearly 45% of women over the age of 20 are living with some form of cardiovascular disease—many without symptoms, many without knowing. Yet less than half of women even recognize heart disease as their biggest health threat. That disconnect is dangerous, and it’s why I felt called to scream this from the rooftops.

This episode dives into why heart attacks are rising in women ages 35–54, why we often don’t present with “classic” symptoms, and why so many of us are told it’s just anxiety when our bodies are actually waving red flags 🚩. I share how hormones, insulin resistance, chronic inflammation, autoimmune disease, thyroid dysfunction, stress, and nervous system dysregulation all collide—making heart disease in women incredibly complex and wildly under-discussed.

We talk estrogen, perimenopause, cortisol overload, mom guilt, caregiver stress, trauma, and why even “healthy,” active women can still be at risk. I also open up about my own experience—how my symptoms didn’t look like a heart attack at all, how my EKG shocked everyone, and how close I came without even realizing it.

Most importantly, this episode is about advocacy without shame. Heart disease is not a moral failure. It’s not because you “didn’t try hard enough.” Many of these risk factors are outside our control, and blaming ourselves only adds more stress to an already overloaded system. This is your permission slip to ask for the heart tests, to push for answers, to slow down, to take care of yourself without guilt, and to stop putting yourself last 💗.

If this episode gets even one woman to book a heart assessment, ask better questions, or listen more closely to her body, then I’ve done my job. And if you’re sitting there thinking, “Whoa… this sounds like me,” please know—you’re not alone. Let’s talk. Let’s support each other. Let’s get loud about women’s heart health.