Four major medical societies unveil a landmark framework for women's heart health across every life stage

Women's hearts finally get their own framework

Four major medical societies — the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine — have jointly published a three-part compendium in Circulation to reshape how cardiovascular disease (CVD) is understood and managed in women. The framework moves beyond pregnancy and hormone therapy as the only lenses for women's heart health, instead mapping CV risk across five female life stages defined by hormonal transitions: premenarche, perimenarche, ovarian cycling, perimenopause, and postmenopause.

The initiative tackles a persistent care gap: CVD is the leading cause of death in women, yet only 41% of women recognize it as their top health threat, and care remains fragmented across specialties. The framework proposes integrating the Female Life Stage construct into electronic health records, standardizing screening for menstrual history, psychosocial health, and pregnancy complications like preeclampsia — and connecting these dots across a woman's entire lifespan.

By the Numbers

• CVD kills more women annually than breast cancer, lung cancer, and chronic lung disease combined
• Only 41% of women recognize CVD as their greatest health threat
• Only ~60% of women with hypertensive pregnancy complications receive blood pressure follow-up within 6 months of delivery
• High blood pressure prevalence in women aged 20+ is projected to rise from 49% (2020) to 59% by 2050

Why it matters: This compendium is a call to action for clinicians across all specialties — from pediatricians to cardiologists — to start thinking about women's heart health early and continuously, not just at crisis points. A proposed national network of interdisciplinary centers of excellence aims to reduce fragmentation and prevent costly, life-threatening cardiac events before they happen.