The strength of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is believed to affect the climate over glacial-interglacial and millennial timescales. The marine sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th ratio is a promising paleocirculation proxy, but local particle effects may bias individual reconstructions. Here we present new Atlantic sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th data from the Holocene, the last glacial maximum and Heinrich Stadial 1, a period of abrupt cooling ca. 17,500 years ago. We combine our results with published data from these intervals to create a spatially distributed sedimentary 231 Pa/ 230 Th database. The data reveal a net 231 Pa deficit during each period, consistent with persistent 231 Pa export. In highly resolved cores, Heinrich 231 Pa/ 230 Th ratios exceed glacial ratios at nearly all depths, indicating a significant reduction, although not cessation, of overturning during Heinrich Stadial 1. These results support the inference that weakened overturning was a driver of Heinrich cooling, while suggesting that abrupt climate oscillations do not necessarily require a complete shutdown of overturning.