Only around 5% of pregnant women have good cardiovascular health, according to a study published by Northwestern Medicine.
Based on the study “Cardiovascular Health Among Pregnant Women, Aged 20 to 44 Years,in the United States,” only 4.6% had high cardiovascular health, 61% had moderate cardiovascular health, and 35% had low cardiovascular health.
Doctors need to do more for the heart health of pregnant women, said James Martin, chair of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ Pregnancy and Heart Disease Task Force.
“We must think of heart disease as a possibility in every pregnant or postpartum patient we see, to detect and treat at-risk mothers,” Martin said in a statement.
Researchers examined 15 years of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The study reveals that fewer than one in 10 pregnant women showed “favorable” heart health. Pregnant women rarely have healthy diet and optimal physical activity.
“Knowing the heart health of women during pregnancy is important for planning strategies to improve it and potentially improve health outcomes for the mother and child,” said Dr. Amanda Marma Perak, an assistant professor of pediatrics and preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of medicine and a preventive cardiologist at Ann & Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
“A lot of women don’t know, and far too many women neglect their heart health,” said Perak.
“Sometimes women don’t know they have heart disease, and because of these changes in pregnancy, lo and behold, they start having problems,” said Marla Mendelson, medical director of Northwestern Medicine’s Heart Disease and Pregnancy Program at the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, which includes maternal-fetal medicine, anesthesia and obstetrics specialists.
The formation of more cardio-obstetrics teams was recommended by the American Heart Association recommends creating. This includes cardiology, obstetrics, maternal-fetal medicine, anesthesia and nursing. The American Heart Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published a joint advisory about the need for medical providers to properly identify heart risks.
