Cardiovascular Health News

Social isolation and loneliness are independently associated with an 11% to 16% higher risk for CVD among older women, according to research published in JAMA Network Open.

Mothers who experience preeclampsia, preterm delivery, gestational diabetes and other pregnancy complications also may be at increased risk for heart disease, according to researchers at Boston Medical Center.

The rate of hospitalization for hypertensive crisis increased in recent years, but the odds of death during hospitalization decreased and was similar for men and women, researchers reported.

Among women with obesity and unexplained infertility, weight loss before infertility treatment did not increase the likelihood of having a healthy live birth, according to findings published in PLoS Medicine.

Pregnant women at highest risk for developing preeclampsia, such as those with diabetes and hypertension, are not routinely prescribed aspirin as recommended by guidelines, according to a population-based study.

In adults aged 35 years or younger, women were 44% more likely to have an ischemic stroke compared with men, according to a systematic review.

Among antihypertensive medications commonly prescribed for pregnant women, all reduced risk for severe hypertension, but labetalol also reduced odds of other poor outcomes, researchers reported.

Women who ever breastfed during their lifetime were less likely to develop CVD, CHD or stroke, or die of CV-related causes compared with parous women who never breastfed, data from a meta-analysis show.

An electronic reminder sent to a provider ahead of a postpartum visit increased discussions about transition of care and CVD risk between the provider and patients who had a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, researchers reported.

Chronic hypertension is a substantial contributor to maternal deaths in the United States, with particular risk among Black women, according to a study published in Hypertension.