Your GP measures your LDL number. What that number does not show is whether your LDL is oxidising inside your arterial walls — a separate process that drives plaque build-up regardless of how controlled your reading looks.

After menopause, two additional factors accelerate: the endothelial lining that keeps arteries flexible loses function, and cellular CoQ10 — the energy source your heart cells need to repair themselves — declines. Statins deplete it further. This is why many women with controlled cholesterol still experience heavy legs, afternoon fatigue, and poor circulation.