New Framework Links Women’s Reproductive Milestones to Lifelong Heart Health

A newly released three-part series in the journal Circulation presents a Female Life Stage tool that integrates reproductive milestones with cardiovascular prevention. Developed by the American Heart Association together with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, the framework outlines four stages: menarche, ovarian cycling (including pregnancy), perimenopause and postmenopause.

It urges clinicians across specialties to share findings—such as early menarche, irregular periods, preeclampsia or premature menopause—to identify heart-disease risk decades before it manifests. The 2026 Cardiovascular Kidney Metabolic Syndrome Guideline now lists pregnancy complications and early menopause as risk factors. The authors also stress the need for structural reforms, better research representation of women, and public-health initiatives to raise awareness of heart disease as the leading cause of death among women.