Increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk after pregnancy complications may not just be due to the pregnancy, but can be influenced by genes and environmental factors, a study has found.
Researchers looked at a registry study of Swedish women who gave birth to their first child between 1992 and 2019. They identified women who had experienced pregnancy complications (such as high blood pressure) and their sisters who had had not.
The study found that the sisters (whose pregnancies saw no complications) had an almost 40% higher risk of CVD compared to women in the control group. Within-family analysis did reveal lower CVD rates in the sisters without pregnancy issues.
Lead author Ängla Mantel. ‘It may be important to identify these women early to offer preventive treatment for pregnancy complications as well as lifestyle counselling and follow-up for cardiovascular disease risk.’
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