Wen Shen, MD, highlights pregnancy, comorbidity history in perimenopause care

A woman’s obstetric history can provide important clues about her long-term cardiovascular risk, making a detailed review of pregnancy-related complications an important part of care during perimenopause, according to Wen Shen, MD, Assistant Professor, Clinical Gynecology, Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Director, Center of Menopause and Midlife Health.

Shen previously discussed perimenopause as a potential window for healthy aging, and she emphasized that reviewing a patient’s earlier reproductive and pregnancy history can help clinicians identify risks before cardiovascular disease becomes clinically apparent.

“One of the things that those of us who are in menopause medicine are very cognizant of is the woman's gynecologic history and obstetrical history, and it's not unusual at all that when I review a new patient's medical history online, there's no mention of her obstetrical history, whatsoever,” Shen said.

She noted that clinicians should look beyond pregnancy and delivery history to identify complications that may signal increased cardiovascular risk later in life.

“With regard to specifically any sort of comorbidities, the most important things that we ask are, ‘did you have eclampsia, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes?’ So all of these things are red flags for risk factors for the woman as she continues to age and becomes perimenopausal, postmenopausal,” she said.

For Shen, identifying these factors during perimenopause can provide an opportunity for preventive intervention. She also pointed to growing attention to perimenopause among clinicians, noting that the topic was recently addressed during a workshop at the National Academy of Sciences.

“Perimenopause was a big part of the discussion and education of providers, and how important perimenopause is.

Reference:

Perry Academy Unveils Full Program for First-of-Its-Kind Multidisciplinary Perimenopause Symposium. Perry Academy. News release. September 1, 2026. Accessed September 30, 2026.