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MONDAY, June 29, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n
Over a lifetime, women who’ve had a preterm delivery have a higher risk of heart disease<\/a>, new research suggests.<\/p>\n The findings point to the fact that doctors should include a woman’s reproductive history in assessments of heart disease<\/a> risk, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n “Preterm delivery should now be recognized as an independent risk factor for IHD [ischemic heart disease<\/a>] across the life course,” said study co-leader Dr. Casey Crump, a professor of family medicine and community health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.<\/p>\n Nearly 10% of babies<\/a> born in the United States are delivered preterm (before 37 weeks of pregnancy<\/a>).<\/p>\n For the new study, Crump and his colleagues analyzed data from millions of Swedish women who gave birth to a single baby and were followed for up to 43 years.<\/p>\n In the 10 years after giving birth, women who delivered preterm (34 to 36 weeks) had more than twice the risk of ischemic heart<\/a> disease than those who delivered full-term, the study found. And women whose babies<\/a> were delivered between 22 to 27 weeks had four times the risk, the study found.<\/p>\n Delivery between 37 and 38 weeks was associated with a 1.4-fold increased risk of heart disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ischemic heart disease<\/a> is a condition in which a buildup of plaque and clots in the arteries reduces blood flow to the heart<\/a>.<\/p>\n While the risk of heart disease<\/a> declined over time, it remained significantly higher for as long as 43 years after preterm delivery, researchers said.<\/p>\n The increased risk was independent of other contributors to heart disease, such as smoking<\/a> or obesity<\/a>, according to the study published June 29 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology<\/i>.<\/p>\n Crump said heart disease risk assessments should routinely include a woman’s reproductive history, including preterm delivery and pregnancy<\/a> complications.<\/p>\n “Women with a history of preterm delivery may warrant early preventive actions to reduce other IHD risk factors, including obesity<\/a>, physical inactivity and smoking<\/a>, and long-term monitoring for timely detection and treatment of IHD,” Crump said in a journal news release.<\/p>\n Previous studies have shown that women who deliver preterm are more likely to develop high blood pressure<\/a>, diabetes<\/a> and high levels of fat in the blood — all of which are major risk factors for heart disease.<\/p>\n — Robert Preidt<\/p>\n ![\"MedicalNews\"](\"https:\/\/images.medicinenet.com\/images\/HealthDay\/healthday.png\")
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