Statistics report puts spotlight on pregnancy and heart health

Complications 在怀孕期间 are widespread, 作为女性心脏健康的警告信号变得越来越普遍，但往往被忽视.

Which is why for the first time, in an effort to guide clinicians and empower women, 一篇广泛使用的关于心血管疾病的事实和数据的参考文献的作者包括了关于不良妊娠结局的信息.

怀孕被认为是观察女性未来心血管健康状况的窗口. Sadiya年代. 汗, 他是芝加哥西北大学范伯格医学院的医学和预防医学助理教授. "It's nature's stress test. And it is such an important time period for both mom and child."

汗是美国心脏协会(American Heart Association)周三在其期刊上发表的最新统计数据的撰写委员会成员 循环. The annually revised work, compiled in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health, 总结最新, most significant data on heart disease, stroke and related conditions.

增加一个关于妊娠并发症的章节使这个问题成为“首要和中心”. 萨利姆Virani, 该报告撰写委员会主席，休斯顿贝勒医学院心脏病学和心血管研究教授. 其目标是为妇女和她们的孩子赢得与心脏病斗争的宝贵线上电子游戏飞禽走兽，并帮助妇女与她们的医疗团队合作，确保她们得到所需的治疗.

汗 said that in young women with no apparent signs of heart disease, pregnancy is a "unique and natural time" to unmask hidden risk for heart disease. "During pregnancy, your weight changes. Your blood pressure may change. Your glucose levels may change. 因此，怀孕期间的综合心脏代谢压力测试确实可以提供信息，并指导干预措施，以降低患心脏病的风险."

并发症，如先兆子痫(一种由高血压和器官损伤定义的妊娠相关疾病), gestational diabetes (diabetes that arises 在怀孕期间), gestational hypertension (high blood pressure that arises 在怀孕期间), and preterm and underweight babies can be warning signs for later heart disease, strokes and heart failure.

"You can identify these high-risk women early on," Virani说. "Then you have opportunities to work on their risk factors, whether they are seen by a primary care clinician or by their OB-GYN."

Among the statistics highlighted in the new chapter:

在美国，怀孕期间血压相关并发症的发生率几乎翻了一番.S. between 1993 and 2014, from 528.9 per 10,000 births in hospitals to 912.4.

– The frequency of gestational diabetes hit 6% in 2016, up 0.4% from four years earlier.

– Cardiovascular deaths are the most common cause of maternal deaths – at 26.5%.

– Black women face a risk of dying during or soon after pregnancy that's 2.5 times greater than white women and three times greater than Hispanic women.

总体而言，10%到20%的女性在怀孕期间会出现某种健康问题. And the problems don't end once the pregnancy does. According to studies cited in the guide:

怀孕期间出现的高血压与后来患心血管疾病的风险增加67%相关.

子痫前期与后期死于心血管疾病的风险增加75%相关.

患有妊娠糖尿病的妇女患心血管疾病的几率比没有患妊娠糖尿病的妇女高68%.

注意这些问题可以对大量妇女的健康产生影响, Virani说.

实际上, 怀孕提供了一个接触女性的机会，而她们肯定会与临床医生联系, 他说. 为临床医生, 这是一个潜在的教育机会，可以解释女性未来出现问题的风险，以及“为什么你要以良好的生活方式照顾好自己，这对你很重要。."

The information is not just for medical experts, 汗 said. “我们对将这些数据纳入统计更新非常感兴趣的原因之一是提高人们对怀孕前自身健康的认识，并帮助女性赋权, 在怀孕期间, and immediately following pregnancy."

Many women see an OB-GYN for most of their medical care, 当他们生命的这一阶段结束时，关于心脏健康的信息可能会在过渡期间丢失, 她和维拉尼说. 因此，女性应该确保与医生分享有关妊娠并发症的信息.

"It doesn't have to be the clinician who always brings it up," Virani说. A woman can say, "I had high blood pressure 在怀孕期间. 确定, 我的血压降下来了，但是我现在应该做些什么来降低我将来患高血压或心血管疾病的风险呢?"

汗说，新的篇章在提高人们的认识方面发挥了重要作用 很少有女性意识到 that heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women in America. “我确实认为，这是真正与女性联系，识别这些风险因素，并找到改变女性及其子女未来心血管健康的方法的一个非常重要的部分."

If you have questions or comments about this story, please email (电子邮件保护).