Pregnancy Complications Predict Heart Disease
Women who’ve experienced complications during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or preterm birth, may have a higher risk of developing heart disease later in life.
Pregnancy complications were associated with:
- 60 percent increased risk for developing cardiovascular disease.
- More than 2 times the risk of early death from any cause.
- Three times the risk of cardiac death if the mother also smoked during pregnancy.
- Double the risk of developing coronary artery disease if the mother’s a smoker.
Dr. Mimi Biswas:
Typically, younger women tend not to be closely followed for cardiovascular disease — based on the results of our analyses, those with difficult pregnancies should be. Knowing that these complications may have ramifications later in life gives us a unique opportunity to catch women early. When women are young, they may tend to focus on the care of their babies and gloss over going to the doctor for their own care.
Heart disease is no longer just a concern for overweight, middle-aged men.
Forbes.com, March 13, 2006
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