The American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine released landmark publications that redefine women’s heart health, starting at puberty. Amanda Marma Perak, MD, MSCI , a pediatric cardiologist at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago was the Vice-Chair of the collaborative writing group.
Three manuscripts published today in the American Heart Association’s flagship journal, Circulation , are the first coordinated, multi-society framework to prevent, detect and manage cardiovascular disease among girls and women. The publications outline a path to connect care across the clinical specialties that see women throughout their lives.
“Heart health begins long before adulthood,” said Dr. Marma Perak, a pediatric cardiologist at Lurie Children’s and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “As pediatric clinicians, we have the opportunity to help every girl start strong and to ensure that what we learn about her health follows her as she grows.”
The organizations together outline four distinct “Female Life Stages” based on female biology, offering windows of opportunity to prevent heart disease and stroke. The framework allows for earlier recognition of risk, earlier prevention, and better continuity of care beginning in childhood.
Each life stage is anchored in a hormonal transition unique to girls and women, with pregnancy identified as a “modifying life event” for cardiovascular health that can intersect with more than one stage:
“Periods can be a marker of heart health, and we now recognize menstrual cycle patterns as a female-specific vital sign,” said Dr. Marma Perak. “Irregular cycles can signal conditions such as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, formerly known as polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, that carry real cardiovascular risk. Heavy bleeding is the most common cause of iron deficiency in young women, which affects energy, activity, and heart health. The new female life stage framework allows us to start taking female-specific steps to prevent heart disease and stroke as early as puberty. This approach promises to be a significant advance for women’s health.”
The joint guidance on the management of women’s cardiovascular disease across the life course is made up of three papers:
The papers were all prepared by the volunteer writing group on behalf of the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
The societies call for a national infrastructure of Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women's Cardiovascular Care, built on four pillars: interdisciplinary clinical care, professional education and training, research and community engagement. Existing tools and therapies offer opportunities to improve cardiovascular health now, while research is needed to continue to address gaps in evidence specific to girls and women by prioritizing inclusion of girls and women in research, expansion of funding of women’s health, and translation of evidence into action.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is a nonprofit organization committed to providing access to exceptional care for every child. It is the only independent, research-driven children’s hospital in Illinois and one of less than 35 nationally. This is where the top doctors go to train, practice pediatric medicine, teach, advocate, research and stay up to date on the latest treatments. Exclusively focused on children, all Lurie Children’s resources are devoted to serving their needs. Research at Lurie Children’s is conducted through Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute, which is focused on improving child health, transforming pediatric medicine and ensuring healthier futures through the relentless pursuit of knowledge. Lurie Children’s is the pediatric training ground for Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. It is ranked as one of the nation’s top children’s hospitals by U.S. News & World Report .
Circulation