of the risk for cardiovascular disease 12 months postpartum, according to the study in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
Gestational diabetes was not associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Also, the study found that women with a history of more than one hypertensive disorder in pregnancy had a 3.3-fold risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and a 4.9-fold risk of heart failure within the first year after giving birth.
The researchers used a national database to examine the health records of 1,015,710 women in the United States who gave birth between 2005 and 2017. Among these women, 1,074 died from cardiovascular causes.
“These findings have significant public health implications as the prevalence of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy is increasing, and cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women in the United States,” said lead author Mary Ross Dzien, an assistant professor at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Women with high blood pressure are at greater risk of fatal cardiovascular disease compared to those with normal blood pressure.
The condition of eclampsia, in which hypertensive disorders lead to seizures, was found to be linked to a nearly 58-fold increase in fatal cardiovascular disease, as per a study published in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.
Rachel Lee, a data analyst at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the lead author of the study, stated, “Maternal and postpartum mortality rates in the U.S. are higher than in other high-income countries and rising, but more than half of cardiovascular disease-related deaths are preventable. This study provides new information.”The researchers looked at pregnancy-related mortality rates for women aged 15 to 54 from 2010 to 2018 using the Nationwide Readmissions Database. They found that 11 percent of patients had hypertensive disorders, which increased from 9.4 percent in 2010. This suggests a need for closer monitoring of patients with these complications to prevent fatal cardiovascular disease postpartum.e has increased by over 50% to 14.4 percent.
“We have become better at anticipating, diagnosing, and managing preeclampsia in this country, which has resulted in a decrease in the risk of death for individuals with this condition,” stated Cande Ananth, who serves as the chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School’s Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences and is the senior author of the research.
<p”Regrettably,” Ananth pointed out, “the significant rise in the number of patients with chronic hypertension has more than negated the improved treatment capabilities.”
“Cases of chronic hypertTension is increasing among people of childbearing age, but the best ways to treat it are still not clear,” he said. ”Though we are giving more pregnant people with mild hypertension antihypertensive medications, there are still many questions about how to define hypertension in pregnant individuals compared to those who are not pregnant.”
Pregnant individuals with hypertensive disorders, particularly those with pre-existing hypertension, require top-notch care because heart disease and symptoms related to the heart can be mistaken for common symptoms of a normal pregnancy. If diagnosis is delayed, there is a higher chance of preventable incidents occurring.Rachel Lee, Justin S. Brandt, K. S. Joseph, Cande V. Ananth. “Pregnancy‐associated mortality due to cardiovascular disease: Impact of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy”. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology. The study authors emphasized the importance of early identification and proper treatment of hypertensive disorders, particularly preeclampsia-eclampsia, in preventing maternal stroke. They also called for the development of guidelines for ongoing care for up to one year after delivery for each hypertensive disorder.The article titled “Epidemiology” was published in 2024 and can be found in Volume 38, Issue 3, on page 204. The DOI for this article is 10.1111/ppe.13055.