Infertility treatment linked to risk of postpartum heart disease: Study

A study conducted by Rutgers Health experts analyzing over 31 million hospital records indicated that individuals undergoing infertility treatment were twice as likely to be hospitalized for heart disease in the year following delivery compared to those who conceived naturally. 

The study, published in the Journal of Internal Medicine, found that patients who underwent infertility were particularly likely — 2.16 times as likely as those who conceived naturally — to undergo hospitalization for dangerously high blood pressure or hypertension.

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of maternal mortality, contributing to an increased number of maternal deaths over the years and now accounting for 26% of pregnancy-related deaths.

Infertility treatment is becoming more prevalent as a means to attain pregnancy, with approximately 12.2% of women of reproductive age seeking such services between 2015 and 2019. Assisted reproductive technology accounted for about 2% of births in 2018. However, alongside its increasing use, infertility treatment has been associated with adverse outcomes for both mothers and newborns. These include heightened risks of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes.

Previous studies have found that women who delivered after in vitro fertilization (IVF) reported a higher rate of hypertension and more incident strokes compared with those who delivered after spontaneous conception.

In the study, researchers utilized the Nationwide Readmissions Database and included 287,813 patients who had undergone various forms of infertility treatment.

The analysis revealed that infertility treatment significantly predicted a markedly increased risk of heart disease. Specifically, among women who received infertility treatment, 550 out of every 100,000 were hospitalized with cardiovascular disease in the year following delivery. In contrast, among those who conceived naturally, the rate was lower, with 355 out of every 100,000 women hospitalized with cardiovascular disease.

“Postpartum checkups are crucial for all patients, especially those who undergo infertility treatment to conceive, as highlighted by this study. Early follow-up care is essential, as indicated by a series of studies revealing serious risks of heart disease and stroke within the initial 30 days after delivery. However, the exact cause of the elevated risk of heart disease associated with infertility treatment remains unclear. It could be attributed to the treatments themselves, underlying medical conditions contributing to infertility, or other factors” said the study authors.

Reference: Rei Yamada, Devika Sachdev, Rachel Lee, Mark V. Sauer, Cande V. Ananth; Infertility treatment is associated with increased risk of postpartum hospitalization due to heart disease; Journal of Internal Medicine; https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.13773