22 FEBRUARY 3, 2022 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
AHA puts spotlight on pregnancy and heart health
Complications during pregnancy
are widespread, becoming more
common and oft en overlooked as
warning signs about a woman’s heart
health.
Which is why for the fi rst time, in an
eff ort to guide clinicians and empower
women, the authors of a widely used
reference on the facts and figures
surrounding cardiovascular diseases
are including information on adverse
pregnancy outcomes.
Pregnancy has been termed a
window into the future of a woman’s
cardiovascular health, said Dr. Sadiya
S. Khan, an assistant professor of
medicine and preventive medicine
at Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine in Chicago. “It’s
nature’s stress test. And it is such an
important time period for both mom
and child.”
Khan served on the writing committee
for the American Heart Association’s
statistical update published
Wednesday in its journal Circulation.
The annually revised work, compiled
in conjunction with the National Institutes
of Health, summarizes the latest,
most signifi cant data on heart disease,
stroke and related conditions.
Adding a chapter on pregnancy
complications puts that issue “front
and center,” said Dr. Salim Virani,
chair of the report’s writing committee
and a professor of cardiology and
cardiovascular research at Baylor College
of Medicine in Houston. The goal
is to gain valuable years in the fi ght
against heart disease in women and
their children – and to help women
work with their health care team to
make sure they’re getting the treatment
they need.
Khan said that in young women
with no apparent signs of heart
disease, pregnancy is a “unique and
natural time” to unmask hidden risk
for heart disease. “During pregnancy,
your weight changes. Your blood pressure
may change. Your glucose levels
may change. And so the combined cardiometabolic
stress test of pregnancy
can be really informative and guide
interventions to reduce risk for heart
disease.”
Complications such as preeclampsia
(a pregnancy-related condition defi ned
by high blood pressure and organ
damage), gestational diabetes (diabetes
that arises during pregnancy), gestational
hypertension (high blood pressure
that arises during pregnancy),
and preterm and underweight babies
can be warning signs for later heart
disease, strokes and heart failure.
“You can identify these high-risk
women early on,” Virani said. “Then
you have opportunities to work on
their risk factors, whether they are
seen by a primary care clinician or by
their OB-GYN.”
Among the statistics highlighted in
the new chapter:
• Rates of blood pressure-related
complications in pregnancy almost
doubled in the U.S. between 1993 and
2014, from 528.9 per 10,000 births in
hospitals to 912.4.
• The frequency of gestational diabetes
hit 6% in 2016, up 0.4% from four
years earlier.
• Cardiovascular deaths are the
most common cause of maternal
deaths – at 26.5%.
• Black women face a risk of dying
during or soon aft er pregnancy that’s
2.5 times greater than white women
and three times greater than Hispanic
women.
Overall, 10% to 20% of women will
have some kind of health issue during
pregnancy. And the problems
don’t end once the pregnancy does.
According to studies cited in the guide:
– High blood pressure that develops
during pregnancy was associated with
a 67% higher risk of later cardiovascular
disease.
– Preeclampsia was associated with
a 75% higher risk of later death from
cardiovascular disease.
– The odds of cardiovascular disease
in women who had gestational diabetes
was 68% higher compared with
those who did not.
Paying attention to such issues could
make a diff erence in the health of huge
numbers of women, Virani said.
In practical terms, pregnancy off ers
a chance to reach women while they
are sure to be in contact with a clinician,
he said. For clinicians, it’s a potential
teachable moment for explaining a
woman’s risk for future problems and
“why it is important for you to take care
of yourself with good lifestyle going
forward.”
The information is not just for
medical experts, Khan said. “One of
the reasons that we were so interested
in bringing this data to the statistical
update was to enhance awareness and
help to empower women in regards to
their own health – prior to pregnancy,
during pregnancy, and immediately
following pregnancy.”
Many women see an OB-GYN
for most of their medical care, and
Photo via Getty Images
messages about heart health can get
lost in the transition when that phase
of their lives ends, she and Virani said.
So women should make sure information
about pregnancy complications is
shared among their doctors.
“It doesn’t have to be the clinician
who always brings it up,” Virani said.
A woman can say, “I had high blood
pressure during pregnancy. Sure,
my blood pressure has come down –
but what should I do now so my risk
of developing high blood pressure or
cardiovascular disease in the future
goes down?”
Khan said the new chapter serves
an important role in raising awareness
at a time when fewer women are
aware that heart disease is the No. 1
killer of women in America. “I do
think that that is a really important
part of really connecting with women
and identifying these risk factors
and fi nding a way to change future
cardiovascular health for women and
for their children.”
— Courtesy of the American Heart
Association
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