Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Around 10% of pregnancies are affected by hypertensive disorders in pregnancy (HDPs), which cause approximately 14% of maternal deaths globally. HDPs are the world's second-greatest cause of maternal death and a major cause of neonatal morbidity.

What are Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy

The phrase hypertensive disorders refer to diseases such as prenatal hypertension, preeclampsia or eclampsia, and either of these pathologic states in addition to chronic hypertension. HDPs have long-term maternal health implications in addition to their short-term impact on mother and fetal pregnancy outcomes. According to observational research, women who have HDPs have a 2-fold increased long-term risk of future cardiovascular events than women who had normotensive pregnancies.

Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy Linked with Heart Disease

Furthermore, the Nurses' Health Study II cohort found that women with HDPs had a considerably greater rate of atherosclerosis in the years following pregnancy. Yet, due to the possibility of residual confounding, causal inference cannot be inferred from such observational relationships. This is especially significant for HDPs because there are numerous probable causes of HDPs and cardiovascular disease. Clinical issues such as diabetes and obesity, as well as socioeconomic and behavioral factors, are particularly difficult to assess and account for in an observational environment.

We investigated the link between HDPs and maternal risk for major cardiovascular illnesses. Pregnancy hypertension was linked to an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, notably coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic stroke (IS). Part of the link between HDPs and CAD was mediated by cardiometabolic variables, suggesting crucial monitoring and therapy objectives while also highlighting a residual effect from an unknown source. In general, these findings support emerging suggestions that HDPs be considered substantial sex-specific risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Pregnancy hypertensive problems are linked to CAD and IS. Given that blood pressure and diabetes play a role in some of this risk, these modifiable risk variables are important targets for primary prevention in women with a history of HDPs.

Future research should concentrate on determining the mechanism underlying the direct link between HDPs and CAD. More genetic research on obstetric difficulties in pregnancy should also be prioritized to provide a full assessment of the impact of obstetric morbidity on long-term maternal outcomes.

Source-Medindia