Women are speaking more openly about periods, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause , bringing once-taboo topics into public conversation. Clinicians and health systems need to now connect these experiences with what the science is telling us about how they influence a woman’s cardiovascular health throughout her life.

A woman may see a gynecologist for her irregular periods, a therapist for her depression, and a primary care doctor or cardiologist for her high blood pressure. Each clinician may focus on an important concern. But what is often missing is a shared understanding of how those concerns fit together and what that means for her lifelong cardiovascular health.

A narrow lens has too often been applied to women’s health, defining it as care of reproductive organs and pregnancy. Reproductive health is essential to a woman’s well-being, but women’s health is much broader. We now know that menstrual patterns, pregnancy, and menopause can provide important information about cardiovascular health.…