Global study to investigate how menopause shapes heart health

Published: 20 January 2026

US $10 million (NZD $17 million) funding will support trial to identify opportunities for earlier heart disease prevention for women.

A study that aims to transform heart disease prevention and care for women around the world has been awarded US $10 million (NZD $17 million) by a global collaboration of major cardiovascular disease research funders, including the Heart Foundation.

The research seeks to advance our understanding of how menopause shapes heart health. The funding will also support the team to launch the largest clinical trial of its kind to detect silent changes in arteries, and test whether earlier prevention can stop or even reverse their progression.

The research has been funded by a sub-group of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum (GCRFF) through its International Research Challenge on Women’s Cardiovascular Health. The funding marks a significant milestone as the Forums’ first major joint investment and a bold step to address areas of unmet clinical need within women’s cardiovascular health.

The SHE-HEALS study, led by Professor Ziad Mallat at the University of Cambridge and Professor Martha Hickey at the University of Melbourne, alongside a global team spanning thirteen institutions across seven countries, will use cutting edge techniques to discover the changes in arteries that start during perimenopause and drive increasing heart disease risk.

As part of this work, the team will also investigate how age at menopause affects heart disease risk, and whether taking HRT impacts this risk.

The researchers believe that current guidelines miss a vital window for earlier prevention in women. To address this, the team will establish the largest trial of its kind to detect silent atherosclerosis – the hidden hardening of the arteries and a key driver of heart disease – in women in perimenopause and early after menopause.

By spotting the early signs of disease before symptoms appear, the study will test whether early prevention, including targeting key risk factors such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, can stop or even reverse progression of atherosclerosis.

The SHE-HEALS team hope that the evidence from this study will help to shape global guidelines, paving the way for earlier, more effective prevention to protect the hearts of millions of women for longer.

Dr Gerry Devlin, Medical Director of the Heart Foundation, said:

"Women are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease after menopause, and it isn’t clear why or what the best treatment is. We are thrilled to support transformational international research into women’s cardiovascular health, as it remains the number one cause of death for women globally, and significant gaps remain in research, diagnosis and care for women."

Dr David Tancredi, current Chair of the GCRFF Board and Director of the Leducq Foundation, said:

"This network award, the first of its kind given by the GCRFF, is a landmark for the organisation. In putting this programme in place, our community of funders has worked together, pooling resources, expertise and data to improve heart health for patients around the world."

Through funding a network of the brightest minds and the best science, the GCRFF grant represents an opportunity for international, multi-disciplinary and multi-institution collaboration. Combining global expertise, the winning network’s research program will aim to deliver real-world impact in women’s cardiovascular health that would not otherwise be possible.

About the GCRFF

The GCRFF is a coalition of major international cardiovascular research funders whose aim is to improve cardiovascular health worldwide by catalysing, supporting and promoting transformational international research efforts in heart, stroke and circulatory diseases.

Forum members funding this grant include the American Heart Association, the British Heart Foundation, the Danish Heart Foundation (Hjerteforeningen), the Dutch Heart Foundation (Hartstichting), the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislauf-Forschung or DZHK), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Leducq Foundation, the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the National Heart Foundation of New Zealand, and the Swiss Heart Foundation.