A scientific statement from the American Heart Association with the American Academy of Pediatrics, ACOG and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine sets out consensus guidance for preventing and managing cardiovascular disease in girls and women. It defines four life stages — perimenarche, ovarian cycling, perimenopause and postmenopause — and treats pregnancy as an event that can unmask risk.
The statement maps existing society guidelines onto those stages across hormonal, psychosocial and cardiovascular health. Its central complaint is fragmentation: a woman's cardiovascular risk markers are scattered across paediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology and primary care, and rarely reach the cardiologist.
This is consensus guidance, not new trial evidence. Its practical use is as a prompt to ask about reproductive history — preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, preterm delivery, early menopause — as part of cardiovascular risk assessment.
- Ask every woman about hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes and preterm birth when assessing risk.
- Record age at menopause; early menopause is a recognised risk enhancer.
- Treat a history of adverse pregnancy outcome as a reason for earlier risk-factor screening.
- Coordinate with obstetric and primary care teams, since risk markers often sit in their records.
Why it matters
Pregnancy complications are early warnings of cardiovascular disease that routinely fail to reach the cardiologist.
Don't overread it
This is consensus guidance built on existing evidence; it introduces no new trial data.
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