Oprah Winfrey reveals the unexpected menopause symptom that made her feel like she was 'going to die'

Oprah Winfrey might be one of the most - if not the most - famous talk show hosts in the world, but she's also become one of the celebrities most open about her experience of menopause in recent years.

As we hit midlife, it can be really difficult to work out what perimenopause feels like - whether a problem is a symptom, down to stress, or something else entirely. Add to this the fact that we all go through this transitional stage in different ways and that information on menopause isn't as expansive as we'd hope it would be, and it can feel like an uncertain time.

No one knows this more than Oprah Winfrey, who opened up about her experience in an interview on ABC News' Good Morning America ahead of releasing her new show, An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution, which is available to watch in the UK on Disney+ from today.

The 71-year-old appeared on the show to talk about her menopause symptoms and how they affected both her personal and professional life.

Alongside mental health and cognitive challenges, Winfrey said she experienced an issue for two years before she knew it was a perimenopause symptom that was so severe, she felt like she was "going to die every single night".

She told the hosts: "I didn't have night sweats, and I didn't have hot flashes, but I had never heard that heart palpitations was a symptom of menopause. When I was going through it, there was nothing. There was nobody. I felt literally like I was going to die every single night."

She said her symptoms were missed by doctors, even when her heart rate hit 212 beats per minute, and it was only when she read about palpatations in a book that she put the two together. “That was the first time that I learned that those were symptoms that the change was coming," she said.

The British Heart Foundation says heart palpitations are a common symptom for some women as oestrogen levels fall, although the exact cause isn’t clear. The charity recommends trying relaxation techniques such as meditation or yoga to ease anxiety, stress, and other menopause symptoms.

Winfrey said she wanted to talk about her experience to encourage other women to share what they’re going through. "Because it affects every cell in your body, the first time you have any of the symptoms, that's when you need to go find a doctor who will listen to you, hear you and take action for you," Winfrey said.

The star said another symptom she really struggled with was a loss of concentration, which affected her ability to enjoy one of her favourite hobbies. "The worst part for me, this is when I knew I was really in trouble, is when I couldn't concentrate reading," Winfrey told ABC News' Kayna Whitworth. “I love reading so much, but I let go of the book club because I could not concentrate when I was reading. I could no longer finish a book.

“I brought [the book club] back when I started taking oestrogen because I could concentrate again, but I actually never shared that before, that the real reason I had to stop it is because I could no longer concentrate. It makes me want to cry,” she said.

Winfrey started the book club on her talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1996, and it ran until 2011. She re-launched it as Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 in 2012, and it still runs today.

It’s our fluctuating and declining oestrogen levels that cause many perimenopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats and low mood, which is why many women choose to start HRT (hormone replacement therapy). Winfrey doesn’t say whether she started taking HRT specifically but suggests her symptoms improved when her oestrogen levels rose again.

Celebrities Maria Shriver, Naomi Watts and Halle Berry also appear in An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution. Berry is another star who’s been speaking openly about her menopause journey recently, discussing her exercise habits in menopause and why she does 'no cardio' these days.

Watts has talked openly about starting to experience her first perimenopause symptoms when she was just 36. She has spoken in interviews about how it caused fertility struggles with her then-partner Liev Schreiber. The actress, who is now 56, released a book called ​​Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause earlier this year.