2001 to 2019 also saw increase in incidence of pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Oct. 14, 2025 (HealthDay News) – From 2001 to 2019, there was an increase in cardiovascular-related complications during pregnancy, according to a study published online Oct. 6 in Circulation.
Emily S. Lau, M.D., M.P.H., from the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined trends in the prevalence of maternal cardiovascular comorbidities and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the incidence of pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications. Pregnancy encounters that occurred between 2001 and 2019 from a primary care electronic health record cohort were studied.
The pregnancy cohort included 56,833 pregnancies among 38,996 individuals. The researchers found that among the pregnancies, the overall prevalence of maternal CVD was 4 percent (age-adjusted, 8 percent) and increased during the study period (age-adjusted prevalence, 1 and 7 percent in 2001 and 2019, respectively). The incidence of pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications was 15 percent (age-adjusted, 17 percent) and also increased during the study period (from 11 to 13 percent, respectively). Individuals with greater burden of maternal cardiovascular comorbidities and CVD more often had cardiovascular complications within one year postpartum (diabetes: 6 versus 3 percent; hypertension: 23 versus 5 percent; CVD: 10 versus 3 percent).
“Our findings showcase an alarming trend of rising real-world burden of pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications and highlights pregnancy from preconception to the postpartum period as a crucial window of opportunity to implement primary prevention strategies and optimize cardiovascular health,” the authors write.
Two authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical and medical technology industries.
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