Women's hearts need a new framework

The fragmented care problem

A woman may see different doctors for irregular periods, depression, and high blood pressure, each focusing on one concern without understanding how they connect to her cardiovascular health.

Women's health defined too narrowly

Women's health has been defined mainly as care of reproductive organs and pregnancy. But menstrual patterns, pregnancy, and menopause provide important information about cardiovascular health.

Heart disease is the biggest threat

Approximately one in three deaths in women are due to cardiovascular disease every year. Yet fewer than half of women knew that heart disease was the leading cause of death for women.

A new framework emerges

The American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine published a three-part series in Circulation establishing a new framework for cardiovascular health in girls and…

Pregnancy reveals hidden risks

Pregnancy acts as a natural stress test, revealing cardiovascular risks that may otherwise go unrecognized. A history of preeclampsia should inform cardiovascular preventive care long after delivery.

Menstrual patterns signal risk

A first period before age ten, irregular menstrual cycles, or menopause at a younger age can each serve as signals of higher cardiovascular risk.

Four life stages define the framework

The framework defines four Female Life Stages: the transition around the first period, the years of ovarian cycling including pregnancy, perimenopause, and postmenopause.It gives clinicians and patients a shared language for recognizing changing health needs.

Women remain underrepresented in research

A two thousand twenty-five systematic review of cardiovascular trials registered from two thousand seventeen through two thousand twenty-three found that women comprised forty-one percent of participants but only twenty-two percent in trials studying acute coronary…

New funding for women's health

In October, President Trump signed an executive order to create a new division for women's health in the National Institutes of Health, though no funding has been allocated at this time.

Women should not connect the dots alone

Girls and women represent half the population. Women can do much to protect their health, but they should not have to connect the dots in their care alone.

“Women can do much to protect their health, but they should not have to connect the dots in their care alone.”