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THURSDAY, Oct. 22, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Pregnancy<\/a> can increase the risk of a rare, dangerous heart<\/a> condition called aortic dissection<\/a>, researchers report.<\/p>\n This is especially true for women with underlying heart<\/a> conditions that can go undetected.<\/p>\n Aortic dissections — which affect 3 in 100,000 people per year — cause the layers of the aorta<\/a> to tear, and blood to pool or leak instead of flow normally. Patients require lifesaving care.<\/p>\n Researchers analyzed data from 29 women who were unexpectedly hospitalized for aortic dissection<\/a> while pregnant<\/a>. Most already had a heart condition that hadn’t been diagnosed in many cases.<\/p>\n Aortic diseases and conditions such as Marfan syndrome<\/a> or Loeys-Dietz syndrome<\/a> are often found in women who have an aortic dissection<\/a> while pregnant<\/a>, the researchers said. But they added that high blood pressure<\/a>, the most common risk factor in the general population, may also be a factor.<\/p>\n The researchers found that 19% of aortic dissections in women younger than 35 were associated with pregnancy<\/a>. That means a woman already predisposed to have a dissection is more likely to have one during pregnancy, possibly due to hormones and changes to the body during pregnancy and postpartum.<\/p>\n Women in the study had aortic dissections in all three trimesters<\/a> of pregnancy, as well as within three months after giving birth, but most cases occurred in the latter part of pregnancy and immediately after.<\/p>\n Pre-pregnancy care for a woman with known aortic disease would include evaluation of maternal and fetal risk, counseling and possible genetic testing, followed by ongoing monitoring and testing, study co-author Dr. Melinda Davis, a cardio-obstetrics expert at University of Michigan Medicine, said in a university news release.<\/p>\n Aortic dissection<\/a> is most often seen in older men, but this study shows the importance of careful monitoring of heart conditions during pregnancy, according to Davis and her colleagues.<\/p>\n The study was published online Oct. 14 in the journal JAMA Cardiology<\/i>.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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