Women’s reproductive health and cardiovascular health have too often been treated as separate medical conversations. A landmark new framework from four leading medical organizations says they shouldn’t be—and employers should pay attention.

On October 26, the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine released joint guidance establishing the Female Life Stage framework. For the first time, the groups have created a coordinated, multi-society approach to preventing, detecting and managing cardiovascular disease in girls and women, connecting hormonal, reproductive and psychosocial health from puberty through postmenopause.

The framework identifies four life stages—perimenarche, ovarian cycling, perimenopause and postmenopause—recognizing how experiences such as pregnancy complications, menstrual irregularities and perimenopause can inform future cardiovascular risk and promote earlier prevention.

While the publications include clinical guidance, they are not formal clinical practice guidelines and do not themselves make treatment recommendations. However, their implications extend well beyond the clinic to companies.

Women often experience these transitions during the very years they are building careers, growing their professional impact and stepping into senior roles.

For employers, supporting women’s cardiovascular health in the workplace is an opportunity to invest in their leadership longevity while also strengthening organizational performance.

Why A Connected Approach To Cardiovascular Health Matters For Working Women

Sadiya S. Khan, M.D., M.Sc., chair of the collaborative writing group and Magerstadt Professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, traces the need for the framework to the way women receive care. “In general, healthcare for women is uniquely fragmented,” she told me in an interview, explaining that women may see primary care physicians, gynecologists, obstetricians and cardiologists at different points in their lives. “The Female Life Stages is really meant to connect the dots across specialties.”

Siloed care has consequences far beyond disconnected medical appointments. Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death globally for both men and women, yet women’s reproductive and hormonal histories can reveal risks that traditional approaches to prevention may overlook. Those clues offer an opportunity for earlier prevention during women’s working years, long before they may recognize their cardiovascular risk.

Asked why the framework is emerging now, Khan pointed to a positive “perfect storm” of scientific advances and growing patient advocacy. “Women were speaking up, recognizing that they needed answers and better answers,” she said. “Science was meeting the moment. We have a lot of new evidence and understanding.”

Khan emphasized that clinical progress must translate into practical foresight. “To me, one of the most important parts about the life stages was to also provide anticipatory guidance for women and in these work environments,” she said. “Too often I hear, ‘I didn’t know what to expect,'” she added, citing perimenopause, when symptoms can affect sleep, concentration and workday productivity.

That insight poses a question for every organization: How much more could women contribute across their careers if protecting their health were treated as an investment in performance?

Why Women’s Cardiovascular Health Is A Business Imperative

Women account for nearly half of the U.S. workforce, and cardiovascular disease remains their leading cause of death, claiming more than 400,000 American women each year. Beyond this devastating loss of life, the broader implications for women’s health and the economy are substantial.

A 2024 report from the McKinsey Health Institute and World Economic Forum estimated that closing the broader women’s health gap could add $1 trillion annually to global GDP by 2040, generating roughly $3 in economic growth for every $1 invested, with approximately 80% of those gains associated with women of working age.

Consider perimenopause, which the Female Life Stage framework identifies as a critical cardiovascular inflection point. Typically beginning in a woman’s 40s and lasting several years, it coincides with a period of significant professional influence. A 2025 RAND Corporation study estimated $5.4 billion in annual U.S. productivity losses associated with menopause symptoms through missed workdays, reduced hours and layoffs.

Yet the immediate economic costs tell only part of the story. These same years offer a critical window to identify cardiovascular risk earlier, with profound implications for women’s long-term health and careers.

Framing these transitions primarily as productivity deficits misses the larger point. Evolving health needs should never be mistaken for diminished professional capability. Physical health, cognitive performance and emotional wellbeing are inextricably connected, and each influences how women lead and perform at work.

The Female Life Stage framework opens a more ambitious conversation about how employers can support women’s cardiovascular health as an investment in workforce performance and professional longevity.

3 Ways Employers Can Support Women’s Cardiovascular Health At Work

In my work advising organizations on employee engagement and workplace wellbeing, I’ve seen how even generous health benefits fall short when employees don’t understand what resources are available, struggle to access care or worry about the professional consequences of seeking support. Addressing these barriers allows employers to maximize existing investments while giving professionals the necessary tools to protect their cardiovascular health and career continuity.

1. Communicate Health Benefits By Life Stage

Employers invest heavily in healthcare coverage, yet employees often struggle to recognize which services are relevant and when. The Female Life Stage framework offers a useful lens for organizing existing resources, connecting preventive screenings, reproductive care and hormonal transitions in ways that make navigating care more practical.

The disconnect is striking. A study by the Society for Women’s Health Research and The Fuchsia Tent found that 43.8% of employees without benefits decision-making authority did not know whether their employer offered menopause-specific support. Meanwhile, decision-makers were 3.4 times as likely to believe such support existed. Although focused on menopause, the findings expose a broader problem: Employers and employees can have vastly different understandings of the same benefits package.

Open enrollment offers an immediate opportunity to bridge that divide, but women’s health needs don’t follow an annual HR calendar. Clear, year-round communication can help close the gap between access and utilization.

Consider These Actions For Benefits Communication

• Create life-stage guides: Link preventive screenings, reproductive care, mental wellbeing and menopause support to existing coverage. Distribute them through an employee resource hub, intranet or other internal communication channel, and recirculate them at meaningful touchpoints, such as wellness campaigns, milestone birthdays or relevant returns from leave.

• Make clinical resources accessible: Share tools such as theAHA’s life-stage checklist to help women identify cardiovascular questions worth raising with their clinicians.

Takeaway

A benefits package is only as valuable as an employee’s ability to navigate it. Organizing resources by life stage clarifies coverage, potentially increases utilization and creates opportunities for earlier cardiovascular prevention.

2. Plan For Health Transitions With Operational Foresight

Organizations are accustomed to building contingency plans for product launches, project deadlines and team restructuring for business continuity. Applying that same discipline to women’s health transitions can be a powerful way to protect team performance while keeping critical care accessible.

In our interview, Khan underscored this approach using parental leave as an example: “It’s not about consolidating work in that time, but really about preparing what are the handoffs and transitions so that it can be anticipated the same way you would for someone who is going to have open-heart surgery.”

Her comparison reframes these moments from an individual burden into standard organizational design.

Consider These Actions For Employee Health Transitions

• Plan ahead: Establish realistic handoffs and coverage for anticipated leave, including return-to-work arrangements that account for appropriate medical follow-up.

• Equip managers: Provide clear guidance for approving preventive appointments and reasonable workplace adjustments without unnecessary barriers.

Takeaway

Anticipating health needs benefits the entire team. Employees can attend to their wellbeing while organizations maintain continuity, distribute workloads effectively and retain valuable expertise.

3. Make Preventive Health Part Of Leadership Culture

Leadership behavior sets the tone for workplace culture, including whether employees feel confident prioritizing their health. The SWHR study also found that among women experiencing or suspecting menopause symptoms, 53% said they would feel comfortable telling their direct manager, yet only 21% had done so. The gap speaks to the distance between what employees may be willing to discuss and what they actually disclose.

Employees also believe what they see. Leaders who make room for preventive care in demanding roles demonstrate that professional excellence and attention to health can coexist. This doesn’t require sharing private medical details or encouraging employees to share theirs. It means challenging the expectation that health needs should remain invisible at work, even when ignoring them comes at a personal cost.

Consider These Goals For Health-Focused Leadership Culture

• Lead by example: Encourage senior leaders to make time for their own preventive care and communicate that employees can do the same.

• Keep performance at the center: In discussions about promotions and leadership opportunities, focus on women’s contributions and capabilities rather than assumptions about their health needs or availability.

Takeaway

Policies give women access to care, but leadership behavior gives them confidence to use it.

What Women Should Know About Cardiovascular Health

While employers play an essential role in making prevention accessible, Khan also encourages women to take ownership of their cardiovascular health. Her recommended starting point is a direct question for their primary care clinician: “What is my heart health status right now?”

Understanding key measures, including blood pressure and cholesterol, can help identify cardiovascular risk before symptoms emerge. Tools such as theAHA PREVENT calculator can also help eligible adults assess their long-term risk with their clinician and identify opportunities for earlier intervention.

As Khan emphasized, “You don’t want to wait until there’s a problem to know about it.”

The Competitive Advantage For Organizations: Invest In Women’s Cardiovascular Health

When discussing how organizations should support women across their careers, Khan shared an analogy from the sports world: “You’re going to change your approach to coaching an athlete depending on what age they are, depending on where they are in their health profile.”

Pursuing excellence over time does not come from ignoring biology; it requires understanding and responding to it. ConsiderAllyson Felix, who survived life-threatening preeclampsia before becoming the most decorated American track athlete in Olympic history, and Serena Williams, who returned from a severe postpartum pulmonary embolism to reach four more Grand Slam finals. Their careers offer a powerful reminder that physiological health changes do not define the limits of a woman’s achievements—and highlight the importance of quality care.

In elite sport, preparation, recovery and resources evolve to enable peak performance. Employers can bring that same sophistication to women’s cardiovascular health.

The Female Life Stage framework brings those clinical realities into focus. As lifespans lengthen and careers span decades, women should never have to navigate major transitions in silence or choose between their wellbeing and their work.

The organizations that recognize this will gain more than a healthier workforce. They will build the conditions for women to lead, contribute and thrive across every chapter of their lives.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com