Multiple studies indicate pregnant women with high blood pressure have a high risk of premature death than those who do not develop high blood pressure during pregnancy.
"Most of these deaths are preventable, but we are missing opportunities to identify risk factors prior to pregnancy and there are often delays in recognizing symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum, particularly for black women," ACOG President Dr Lisa Hollier told a news portal.
In one study,a team of researchers in the UK examined the country's electronic health records from 1997 to 2016.The information helped the team identify the hypertensive disorders associated with pregnancy that includes cardiovascular disorders and pre-eclampsia. Over the course of 20 years, 18,624 cardiovascular events - heart attacks, stroke and heart failure- occurred.65 per cent of those cases occurred in women who wre under 40-years-old. Women in this group have also developed chronic hypertension much faster than women who didn't develop blood pressure during pregnancy.
Another study conducted in the US also found older women who were pregnant were likely to experience chronic hypertension. "We found that mothers who were older when they became pregnant were more likely to have chronic hypertension,"Cande V. Ananth, a professor and chief of the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told a news portal. Adding, "Since more women are electing to postpone their first pregnancies, and advanced maternal age is strongly associated with chronic high blood pressure, women should be aware of the risks associated with having high blood pressure during pregnancy."
Monitoring one's health during pregnancy is key to reduce death rates due to heart disease. "Women who already have high blood pressure and are planning to become pregnant should work closely with their health care provider to closely monitor and manage their blood pressure, especially during pregnancy, to reduce the serious health risks to both themselves and their unborn child," Ananth told news portal.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recently released new guidelines regarding screening and heart disease management. These new steps could hopefully help reduce heart disease-related deaths for many women during and after pregnancy.
"The new guidance clearly delineates between common signs and symptoms of normal pregnancy versus those that are abnormal and indicative of underlying cardiovascular disease," Hollier told a news portal. Adding, "As clinicians, we need to be adept at distinguishing between the two if we're going to improve maternal outcomes."
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