The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has published Protecting Maternal Heart Health: Prevention and Care Before, During, and After Pregnancy, a landmark report commissioned by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to address the leading cause of pregnancy-related death in the United States: cardiovascular disease.

The Association of Black Cardiologists played a significant role in the development of this report. ABC Board Member and CVD in Women and Children Committee Co-Chair Dr. Rachel M. Bond served as a NASEM committee member throughout the report’s development — part of the expert group appointed to research, deliberate, and author its conclusions and recommendations. On the day of the report’s release (April 21, 2026), Dr. Bond’s Perspective piece in JAMA summarizing the report’s findings was published with her as first author, co-written with the committee chair.

ABC’s influence on this process extended further: CVD in Women and Children Committee Co-Chair Dr. Annette K. Ansong presented ABC’s research and policy work on pediatric and transgenerational cardiovascular risk to the NASEM committee during a public information-gathering session in May 2025. Her presentation made the case that maternal heart health cannot be separated from the cardiovascular futures of children — a life-course perspective grounded in ABC’s own published research and advocacy work, including the organization’s landmark position paper in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality & Outcomes.

The report presents evidence-based recommendations, including two clinical preventive services supported for immediate implementation, and calls for a fundamental shift from episodic maternity care to coordinated, longitudinal cardiovascular prevention. It emphasizes that risk identification should begin in adolescence and continue well beyond the postpartum period — and that most maternal cardiovascular deaths are preventable. These findings align directly with ABC’s life-course framework and our longstanding commitment to cardiovascular equity for Black women and families.

NASEM has engaged ABC to support dissemination of the report and its materials — a recognition of ABC’s established leadership in Black maternal heart health.

→ Access the full report and resources

https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/29425/interactive

→ Read the JAMA Perspective by Dr. Bond et al.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2848128

→ Register for the Report Release Webinar | May 7, 2026 | 3:00–4:00 PM ET

https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/HMD-BPH-24-07/event/46682