New Heart Health Recommendations Focus on Women Across the Lifespan

The American Heart Association, working with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, has issued its first comprehensive heart health guidelines for women. The recommendations outline four distinct “Female Life Stages,” spanning puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and the years beyond.

Sadiya S. Khan, M.D., M.Sc., FAHA, who chairs the collaborative writing group, said the goal is to better connect care across medical specialties so heart health is addressed in a more unified way throughout a woman’s life. “Women experience their healthcare across clinical specialties, but it often is fragmented or disconnected,” Khan said. The guidance also stresses earlier recognition of cardiovascular risk and more individualized prevention.

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death among women in the U.S., responsible for more than 400,000 deaths each year, according to the American Heart Association. Even so, only about 41% of women identify it as their biggest health threat. The new guidelines are intended to close that awareness gap by giving clinicians a common framework for identifying risk at different stages of life.

The recommendations treat cardiovascular health as a lifelong process, with particular attention to key biological transitions such as menstruation, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause. They also call for a national network of Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women’s Cardiovascular Care, with a focus on coordinated clinical treatment, professional training, research, and outreach to communities.

William A. Grobman, M.D., MBA, vice-chair of the writing group, said pregnancy and the postpartum period can provide important clues about future cardiovascular health. “An adverse pregnancy outcome can unmask increased cardiovascular risk and that information should guide care well beyond pregnancy,” Grobman said.

The guidelines also urge more women-specific research, echoing a TIME report that noted women remain underrepresented in studies of acute coronary syndromes, despite making up a substantial share of clinical trial participants.

Overall, the new standards mark a major advance in efforts to improve heart care and outcomes for women throughout their lives.