Pregnancy complications linked to long-term increased heart disease risk

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