Pregnancy complications may yield future HF risk
A history of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly low birth weight, increased risk for HF, according to data presented at the virtual American College of Cardiology Scientific Session.
“Clearly, the risk for heart disease doesn’t go away when pregnancy ends, and these complications are a critical piece of a woman’s past medical history that is not always routinely reported or asked about,” Priya P. Mehta, MD, cardiology fellow at Northwestern University, said in an press release.
Researchers analyzed data from 936 women (mean age, 24 years; 47% black) from the CARDIA study with one or more live births who were free from diabetes, hypertension or HF before pregnancy. Women also underwent an echocardiogram before age 30 years.
Self-reports of adverse pregnancy outcomes included in this study were gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, low birth weight less than 2,500 g and preterm birth earlier than 37 weeks’ gestation.
There were 35% of women who self-reported at least one adverse pregnancy outcome over 1.8 births.
At age 30 years, women with adverse pregnancy outcomes were more likely to have risk factors including higher BP and BMI.
Global longitudinal strain was lower in women with low birth weight pregnancies after adjusting for risk factors at age 30 years (beta = 0.76; P = .009) or prepregnancy (beta = 0.75; P = .01).
Risk factors that were modifiable attenuated the link between adverse pregnancy outcomes and global longitudinal strain in other adverse pregnancy outcome subtypes.
“Pregnancies complicated by low birth weight may be an independent sex-specific risk factor for HF,” Mehta and colleagues wrote in the abstract. – by Darlene Dobkowski
Reference:
Mehta PP, et al. Prevention: Clinical 7. Presented at: American College of Cardiology Scientific Session; March 28-30, 2020 (virtual meeting).
Disclosure: Mehta reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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