Why More Women Should Be Checking Their Heart Health

Local Women Editor Kim Kelly visits Heart Health Hub at Holywood Private Clinic at the Culloden Estate & Spa and discovers why Charlotte Currie’s expert-led cardiac screening is giving faster access to reassurance and earlier answers.

Heart disease is still too often treated as something that mainly affects men. It doesn’t.

In fact, one of the most striking things I learned during a recent visit to Heart Health Hub at Holywood Private Clinic, based beside the spa at Culloden Estate & Spa, is that women’s heart health deserves far more attention than it gets, especially around midlife and menopause.

As Charlotte Currie explained, before menopause, women generally benefit from some cardiovascular protection from oestrogen. As hormone levels begin to fall, that protection drops too, and the risk of heart disease rises. Women can also present differently when something is wrong, which is one reason symptoms can be missed or dismissed.

That alone makes this the kind of appointment many women should be thinking about sooner.

Heart Health Hub is based at Holywood Private Clinic, a calm and beautifully kept private healthcare space tucked beside the spa at the Culloden. It is separate from the hotel itself, with plenty of parking, easy access and none of the stress that can come with a hospital visit. The clinic is home to a range of private health and wellbeing services, from aesthetics to menopause care, and Charlotte’s presence there feels like a natural fit.

She is also exactly the kind of practitioner you want to meet in a setting like this, calm, knowledgeable and deeply reassuring.

A Clinical Scientist specialising in cardiology, Charlotte is, remarkably, the only person in Northern Ireland offering this level of clinical scientist-led cardiac screening. She also works in collaboration with a consultant cardiologist, with any concerning findings escalated appropriately, which adds another layer of confidence for patients.

And, perhaps selfishly, I loved seeing a young woman in a field still so often associated with older male consultants.

The appointment itself was refreshingly straightforward. After talking through my health background and any concerns, Charlotte carried out the scan in a standard clinical room. There is nothing intimidating about it. No dramatic medical theatre. No panic-inducing machines. It feels more like a well-run private consultation than anything else.

You do not need to fully undress. I simply opened my shirt, lay back, and Charlotte attached small pads to my front and ankles while I tried, with mixed success, to remember how to relax on command. Once the scan began, I was able to watch my own heart beating in real time on the screen, which was fascinating in itself.

Thankfully, mine was absolutely fine, which is lovely information to have.

But that is exactly the point of a service like this. Sometimes you leave with reassurance. Sometimes you leave with an answer. And if something does need investigated further, Charlotte can guide patients towards the right next steps.

That clarity is what makes it so valuable. She sees a wide range of clients, from adults who have been struggling with symptoms for years and still do not feel they have answers, to younger people and families who simply want to be proactive. With NHS waiting lists under such pressure, that kind of access can be incredibly helpful.

One area Charlotte feels particularly strongly about is screening for young people aged 14 and over, especially those involved in competitive sport.

Through her wider work, including involvement with CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), she is passionate about helping families access screening for sporty teenagers and young adults, particularly at a time when many parents are understandably anxious about sudden cardiac events in seemingly healthy young people. In Northern Ireland, where those stories have hit particularly hard, it is easy to see why families are looking for answers.

And it is not just for footballers. Rugby players, GAA players, runners, gym enthusiasts, dancers, swimmers, teenagers training hard several times a week all should be screened.

For mums, especially, this feels like one of those services that makes immediate sense. If you have a child who is pushing their body hard in training or competition, having the chance to access expert screening without endless delays is incredibly valuable.

But just as importantly, Charlotte is clear that women need to stop assuming heart checks are for somebody else.

We are very used to being told to check our breasts, attend smear tests, think about bone health and stay on top of all sorts of age-related changes, particularly in midlife. Heart health does not always make the same list, and it should.

What Charlotte is offering is not fear-based medicine. It is not about catastrophising. It is about prevention and the chance to catch something early.

It is also surprisingly accessible. For the level of expertise involved, and the insight it can provide, it feels like a genuinely worthwhile investment in your health.

Most of all, what stayed with me was Charlotte herself. She has that rare combination of clinical precision and human warmth. She explains complex things clearly, puts nervous patients at ease, and speaks with real conviction about why early detection matters, whether that is for a 15-year-old athlete or a woman navigating the hormonal shifts of midlife.

In a region where this kind of screening is still incredibly limited, what she is offering feels genuinely valuable.

Because sometimes the best appointments are not the ones you make when something has already gone wrong.

They are the ones you make while you still have the chance to get ahead of it.

Contact Details

Heart Health Hub
Bangor | Dundonald | Holywood

Tel: 028 9042 2500
Email: info@hearthealthhub.org
Website: www.hearthealthhub.co.uk