Around the first period
Start the conversation early. Menstrual patterns, nutrition, activity, sleep and emotional health can inform care.
The evidence behind HEART RESERVE · October 26, 2026
Her history belongs
in her care.
Pregnancy history is heart history. HEART RESERVE helps women bring that history to a visit, understand the next step and stay connected to care. New guidance strengthens the evidence behind this work; the campaign’s focus remains the woman, her story and the care that follows.
Primary sources reviewed October 26, 2026 · Independent HEART RESERVE interpretation
The new guidance
Pregnancy is an entry point.
The history matters for life.
On October 26, the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine released a three-part compendium. It joins a life-stage framework, clinical consensus guidance and a proposal for coordinated women’s cardiovascular care.
The framework connects cardiovascular, hormonal and psychosocial health. Its four stages follow biological transitions, rather than fixed age cutoffs; pregnancy can modify care across stages.
During the cycling years
Discuss persistent cycle changes, reproductive health and pregnancy plans alongside cardiovascular health.
Through the menopause transition
Review changes in symptoms and health measures while keeping earlier pregnancy and menstrual history visible.
In the years after menopause
Continue prevention and follow-up, with attention to the woman’s health, function and priorities.
Sources: AHA compendium · Clinical consensus summary · Life-stage overview (PDF)
Put the guidance into a conversation
Bring your history.
Leave with a plan.
Use the HEART RESERVE visit guide to choose questions about pregnancy, menstrual or menopause changes, sleep, emotional well-being and access to care. These are conversation prompts; your clinician decides what evaluation or follow-up is appropriate.
01 · Bring the history
What happened then?
Bring known pregnancy complications and dates, available records, current medicines and questions. Mark what is uncertain so the care team can help clarify it.
02 · Agree the next step
What needs attention now?
The clinician reviews the history alongside current health. Record any agreed action, who is responsible, when it is due and whom to contact with questions.
03 · Close the loop
Did the care happen?
Confirm the result or visit was reviewed and the next plan is clear. Tell the team when cost, transport, language or scheduling makes follow-up difficult.
Start with established resources
Supporting tools for your Heart Story.
Start with your Heart Story. These optional resources can support your conversation or help a care team review the evidence. They open the original AHA materials.
Prepare for a visit
The new resource center includes the patient checklist, life-stage guides and expert videos. Use these to prepare the conversation.
AHA checklist & life-stage resources ↗See the full picture
A printable overview connects heart health with periods, pregnancy, menopause and emotional well-being.
AHA life-stage overview (PDF) ↗Support pregnancy & postpartum care
Existing AHA checklists, home blood-pressure instructions and English/Spanish resources complement the new guidance.
AHA maternal-health tools ↗Equip the care team
The compendium brings together the scientific papers, clinical summaries and plain-language guides.
AHA clinician resources ↗The new materials sit alongside Life’s Essential 8: food, movement, tobacco exposure, sleep, weight, cholesterol, glucose and blood pressure.
Risk assessment · Updated tools
Use the score.
Keep the history beside it.
The current AHA calculator provides PREVENT-Age and age- and sex-specific 30-year risk percentiles, alongside absolute risk. PREVENT-Age communicates equivalent predicted risk; it is not a measurement of biological aging or a pregnancy-adjusted age. Both added displays use the base equations.
PREVENT estimates 10-year risk for eligible adults ages 30–79 without known cardiovascular disease, and 30-year risk for ages 30–59. It is not an acute pregnancy or postpartum symptom assessment.
What the distinction means
Preeclampsia, past gestational diabetes and preterm delivery are not separate equation inputs. AHA guidance nevertheless includes reproductive history in clinical interpretation. A missing input does not mean the history is ignored by guidance, or that adding a fixed multiplier is justified.
The calculator also offers treatment-benefit estimates for clinician discussion. AHA reports an October 14, 2026 correction involving optional HbA1c; use the current official version.
Open the official PREVENT calculator ↗Source: AHA PREVENT calculator, eligibility and interpretation. HEART RESERVE’s separate pregnancy-adjusted model remains research; it is not a validated clinical score.
For Congress, states & health systems
Make existing guidance
easier to put into practice.
The societies propose comprehensive women’s cardiovascular centers combining clinical care, workforce education, research and community engagement. HEART RESERVE’s proposed contribution is a focused community-to-care pathway that can work with existing services.
- Carry the history forward. Agree on a clinically reviewed way to preserve pregnancy complications, menstrual history and menopause timing through transitions between care teams.
- Make the handoff usable. Pair established educational tools with a named receiving clinician, an agreed timeframe and help with language, cost, transport or appointment barriers.
- Measure the care completed. Track documented history, indicated follow-up and unresolved barriers. Review results by life stage and access needs where sample sizes allow.
These are HEART RESERVE’s proposed implementation steps. They do not establish AHA endorsement, a funded partnership or proven campaign outcomes. Research on a new prediction model needs its own evaluation.
Sources: Centers of Excellence advisory · Joint announcement, October 26, 2026
Bring the guidance to the working session.
Agree on the clinical lead, local follow-up capacity and measures before launching the demonstration.