Pregnancy complications linked to long-term increased heart disease risk

Women who experience any of five major pregnancy complications, such as preterm birth and pre-eclampsia, show an increased risk of ischemic heart disease up to 46 years after delivery, finds a study from Sweden published by The BMJ.

The researchers say all major adverse pregnancy outcomes should be recognised as lifelong risk factors for ischemic heart disease and women should be offered appropriate care to help prevent its development.

Heart disease is a serious condition where the blood vessels supplying the heart are narrowed or blocked and is the leading cause of death among women worldwide.

They identified 2,195,266 women in Sweden with no history of heart disease who gave birth to a single live infant between 1973 and 2015 at an average age of 27.

Using nationwide medical records, they then tracked cases of ischemic heart disease from delivery date to December 2018 (average follow-up time 25 years, up to a maximum of 46 years).

The five major adverse pregnancy outcomes of interest were preterm delivery (less than 37 weeks gestation), small for gestational age at birth, pre-eclampsia, other blood pressure disorders of pregnancy, and gestational diabetes.

Other important factors were taken into account, such as mother’s age, number of children, education level, income, body mass index, smoking, and history of high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol.

Overall, ischemic heart disease was diagnosed in 83,881 (3.8%) women at an average age of 58 years. The results show that women who experienced any of five major adverse pregnancy outcomes showed an increased risk of subsequent ischemic heart disease.

Women with adverse pregnancy outcomes should be considered for early preventive evaluation and long term risk reduction to help prevent the development of ischemic heart disease,” they conclude.

Reference:

Pregnancy complications linked to long-term increased heart disease risk; The BMJ, DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2022-072112