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Complications During Pregnancy May Indicate Cardiovascular Disease
By jeremyc | February 21, 2012
According to a research published in the Journal of American Heart Association on February 17, 2012, women who develop hypertensive disorders or diabetes during pregnancy have increased risks of developing a cardiovascular disease in their later life.
Abigail Fraser, School of Social & Community Medicine, University of Bristol, UK, said that they wanted to find out why women having pregnancy complications are known to have more cardiovascular disease in their later life. For this, they conducted a study that included 3,416 pregnant women, who were enrolled in Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents & Children in early 1990s. Among those women, 29.8% (1,002) women had one pregnancy related complication, 5.2% (175) had two and 0.8% (26) had three. These complications included pregnancy or gestational diabetes, preterm delivery and high blood pressure related to pregnancy (also termed as preeclampsia). Researchers related these with CVD risk factors in these women, when they were 48 years of age on an average around 18 years later.
Following that, the researchers calculated their likelihood to experience cardiovascular events in the next 10 years. They used the 10 year CVD Framingham risk scores for this, which includes factors such as their age, systolic blood pressure, smoking status, diabetes and HDL and total cholesterol.
After the study, the researchers found that women who had gestational diabetes or preeclampsia and those who gave birth to small babies had more likelihood to have a heart disease. Gestational diabetes was related to 26% and preeclampsia with 31% more risks of developing a heart disease by middle age. Gestational diabetes in women who experienced these complications during pregnancy was related to high levels of fasting insulin and glucose. Preeclampsia was related to high body mass index and bigger waist circumference, in addition to high lipids, insulin and blood pressure. Women who delivered babies large for their gestational age developed higher blood glucose levels and larger waist circumference. Those who delivered preterm babies developed high blood pressure.
Fraser said that risks of heart disease in a woman can be identified by monitoring her condition during pregnancy. By identifying their pregnancy complications, healthcare professionals can recommend lifestyle changes to the women so that medical intervention can be availed sooner. Women who experience complications while being pregnant should stay active and ask healthcare professionals about their future CVD risks and should take steps to modify her risks.
Women involved in the study did not experience any CVD events. So it could not be determined whether pregnancy diabetes and/or preeclampsia have separate and independent effects of CVD risks in future or not.
Fraser said that larger studies with long follow-ups can be helpful in determining whether complications during pregnancy can affect how 10 year CVD Framingham risk scores are calculated among these women. In addition to this, most of the women involved in the study were white. Doing similar research among other racial groups of the society will be helpful in receiving additional data on how CVD risk and pregnancy related complications are interrelated.
The study had been funded by British Heart Association, Wellcome Trsut and US National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Topics: | Blood Pressure, Cardiovascular, Diabetes, Women's Health |
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