Three separate viewpoints in the latest issue of JACC: Case Reports focus on several aspects of women's cardiovascular health, including the importance of obtaining obstetrics and gynecological (OB-GYN) history from women as part of assessing cardiovascular risk; the need for more research into the cardiovascular impacts of assisted reproductive technology (ART); and the benefits of a training program for cardiovascular fellows solely focused on women.

"Among the most important risk factors specific to women are conditions occurring during pregnancy and history related to fertility and gynecological conditions," write Ki Park, MD, MS, FACC; Pensee Wu, MBChB, MD(RES); and Martha Gulati, MD, MS, FACC, in their viewpoint looking at Obstetrics and Gynecological History: A Missed Opportunity for Cardiovascular Risk Assessment. "The value of such history has become more apparent in recent literature; however, the translation of this knowledge to clinical practice has been poor."

Park and colleagues highlight the value of screening for female-specific risk factors related to OB-GYN history for assessing risk and stress the importance of developing a system to transition women, such as those with hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, to regular follow-up with a primary care physician or cardiologist. They also suggest using OB-GYN visits to screen women for risk factors, given many women often use their OB-GYN as their primary care provider.

In a separate viewpoint, Victor G. Becerra-Gonzales, MD, and Claudia Martinez, MD, note the increase over the last decade in the availability and use of ART, but explain there is limited amount of conclusive research on the cardiovascular effects of high doses of hormone therapy in women, especially those of "later age." They stress the need for "increased funding and attention to the design of studies to clarify the cardiovascular effects of ART in women."

The creation of a formal and structured women's cardiovascular health curriculum within fellowship training programs is key to ensuring clinicians understand and gain expertise in sex- and gender-specific cardiovascular care, according to Nosheen Reza, MD; Srinath Adusumalli, MD, MSc, FACC; and Matthew D. Saybolt, MD, FACC, et al., in another viewpoint. Reza and colleagues provide an inside look at the woMen's CardiovAsCular HeAlth (MUCHACHA) curriculum implemented in 2016 as part of the University of Pennsylvania's cardiovascular disease fellowship training program. "Our hope is that these efforts will improve the education of future generations of trainees; encourage team-based approaches to care, research and quality improvement; and ultimately, reduce disparities in prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in women."

Read more in the January issue of JACC: Case Reports dedicated to examining cardiovascular disease in women.

Clinical Topics: Diabetes and Cardiometabolic Disease, Prevention, Vascular Medicine, Hypertension

Keywords: Pregnancy, Obstetrics, Fellowships and Scholarships, Quality Improvement, Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced, Training Support, Reproductive Techniques, Assisted, Fertility

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