Cardiovascular Health in Girls and Women Compendium

• Prevention and management of cardiovascular disease in women needs a new organizing framework. Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in women and accounts for 1 in 3 deaths, yet women’s cardiovascular care has been fragmented across specialties, life stages, and clinical guidelines, leaving female-specific risk under-recognized and inconsistently managed.
• This compendium introduces the Female Life Stages (S1-S4) construct that is endorsed by four leading professional societies. The Female Life Stages organize cardiovascular care across four distinct stages: perimenarche (S1), ovarian cycling or reproductive years (S2), perimenopause (S3), and postmenopause (S4). The peripregnancy period and use of hormone therapy are recognized as important modifiers of cardiovascular risk.
• Hormonal, psychosocial, and cardiovascular health are interconnected in girls and women within each Female Life Stage (S1-S4) across the life course. Given the complex interplay among these domains, they should be assessed and addressed together rather than in isolated specialty silos.
• The compendium translates the Female Life Stages (S1-S4) framework into action with consensus guidance. This new construct moves beyond concept to clinical practice by harmonizing guidance across societies, identifying female-specific and female-predominant risk, and providing stage-specific direction for screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
• The Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women’s Cardiovascular Care provide a practical roadmap for transforming cardiovascular health in girls and women. Interdisciplinary care models, workforce education, research infrastructure, and community partnerships can support earlier risk detection, reduce inequities, and advance cardiovascular health for girls and women across the life course.

Read the full articles in Circulation:

• A Female-Specific Life Course Approach to the Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease: Presidential Advisory
• Consensus Guidance for the Female-Specific Prevention and Management of Cardiovascular Disease: Scientific Statement
• Comprehensive Centers of Excellence for Women's Cardiovascular Care: Science Advisory

Related Commentaries:

• Promises to Keep: Closing the Gaps in Women’s Cardiovascular Health
• Women’s Cardiovascular Health Begins in Childhood
• Mainstreaming Cardiovascular Care for Women: From Special Population to Standard Practice
• One Life Course, Many Specialties: Building a System for Cardiovascular Health in Girls and Women
• Women's Cardiovascular Health: From Recognition to Action