Problem Pregnancy Hikes Heart Death Risk Later

Data analyzed by researchers at the Public Health Institute’s Child Health and Development Studies (CHDS) at Berkeley, CA, shows a high correlation between women who experienced complications during pregnancy and those facing death from heart disease later in life.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both men and women. High levels of sugar in a woman’s urine were associated with a four times increased risk of later heart disease death, when compared to women who experienced normal pregnancy. The researchers said that the level of hemoglobin in the blood tells how efficiently red blood cells can transport oxygen throughout the body.

According to Dr. Barbara Cohn, lead author of the study from CHDS, low hemoglobin levels and high glucose levels should be observed in pregnant women as it may indicate higher risk of stroke, heart attack or heart failure.

In order to carry out the study, the researchers examined approximately 15,500 women in the metropolitan area of Oakland, California, who conceived between 1959 and 1967.

“Obstetricians serve as primary care physicians for many young women and can readily use these complications to identify high-risk women to implement early prevention”, the authors write. Pregnancy complications appear to be a significant sign of heart disease to come later in life.

The women who had pre-existing high blood pressure along with pre-eclampsia (a condition that involves high blood pressure and high levels of protein in the urine), were almost six times more likely to die from heart disease than those who did not have this combination of complications, the scientists found. “And honestly I believe the latter is more likely”, explains Dr. Rita Redberg, who is the spokesperson for the AHA, a Professor of Medicine, and the Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Service with University of California-San Francisco’s National Center of Excellence in Women’s Health. “They may be an indicator or predictor of how well a woman’s cardiovascular system can adjust to the demands of pregnancy”. African-Americans, who made up 22 percent of the study population, were nearly twice as likely to die of heart disease later in life, while white, Asian and Hispanic women had no increased risk due to gestational hypertension.

Women who have experienced pregnancy complications can also be proactive about reducing their risk of heart disease. “It’s an opportune time to teach them how to reduce their risk factors”.