When pregnancy problem leads to heart disease risk
TESTS which “red flag” the early signs of heart disease in women who had high blood pressure during pregnancy are being developed by Scots scientists.
Pre-eclampsia is a condition marked by high blood pressure in pregnancy and signs of damage to other organs, often the kidneys.
The relatively common condition affects one in 20 first-time mothers.
Globally, it contributes to the deaths of nearly 76,000 mums and half a million babies every year.
While rarely a cause of maternal death in the UK, pre-eclampsia is associated with an increased risk of heart disease later in life, including heart attacks, high blood pressure, heart failure and stroke.
It is widely recognised that women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy are at increased risk of heart disease in later life. But very little is known about how these women should be followed up, or what tests should be used to determine who is most at risk.
Supported by a £20,000 grant from Tenovus Scotland Grampian, researchers from the University of Aberdeen will develop a pilot study by identifying women with and without pre-eclampsia from the Aberdeen Maternity and Neonatal Databank, who have recorded all births in Aberdeen city since 1950.
They hope to recruit 40 women to the study from four groups – 10 who had pre-eclampsia and now have heart disease, 10 who had pre-eclampsia and do not have heart disease, 10 who did not have pre-eclampsia but now have heart disease and 10 who did not have pre-eclampsia and do not have heart disease.
The participants will be asked to take part in a series of tests to identify markers of early heart disease and to identify any differences between people in the four groups.
Professor Phyo Myint, chairman in old age medicine at the University of Aberdeen, said: “It is widely acknowledged that pre-eclampsia can lead to a range of complications with the heart in middle and later life but some may be surprised that standardised tests have never been developed to identify those most at risk.
“This small pilot study will make use of the excellent data available to us via the Aberdeen Maternity Neonatal Databank to take the first steps towards a bigger study which could eventually see the development of globally applicable tests that ultimately could save women’s lives.”
Tests have never been developed to identify those at risk