A new study shows that expecting mothers who have high blood pressure during pregnancy are more susceptible to developing heart diseases in future.
A group of researchers conducted a study on 1,46,748 women with a first pregnancy and followed-up with them for 4.5 years. Among them, 997 had a diagnosis of heart disease and 6,812 had an elevated blood pressure. The remaining women were healthy and served as controls. During the follow-up period, women with high blood pressure during pregnancy were found to have a 2.2 times higher chance of developing heart disease compared to the healthy women. They also had 5.6 times greater risk of developing hypertension later after delivery. Subsequent pregnancies did not seem to have an effect on these relationships.
This study underlined the need for long-term follow-up of women with a history of hypertension during pregnancy so that risk factors for heart diseases can be tackled.
It was suggested that routine health check-ups, dietary modifications such as limited intake of salt and sugar, increasing physical activity, and early diagnosis and management would be crucial for preventing heart diseases in pregnant women.
Source: Paediatric & Perinatal Epistemology Journal