Association between Abnormal Echocardiography and Adverse Obstetric Outcomes in Low-Risk Pregnant Women

Abstract

Maternal mortality in the United States is a public health crisis of preventable deaths among young women. The role of echocardiography in the evaluation of pregnant women with cardiovascular symptoms or risk factors without known heart disease is unclear. We retrospectively examined the clinical characteristics of consecutive pregnant patients without established heart disease who underwent echocardiography and evaluated associations between abnormal exam findings and obstetric outcomes. Among low-risk women undergoing echocardiography during pregnancy, older age, higher parity and a history of chronic hypertension are associated with a higher likelihood of echocardiographic abnormalities, which in turn are associated with a higher likelihood of adverse obstetric outcomes including caesarean section and preterm delivery.

Infective Endocarditis during Pregnancy—Keep It Safe and Simple!

“…The CAPREG II study evaluated pregnant patients with various cardiovascular pathologies to identify predictors associated with a high risk of maternal complications such as mechanical prosthesis, high-risk associated aortic disease, pulmonary hypertension and chronic coronary syndrome [ 104 ]. Echocardiography also identifies a number of negative prognostic factors such as the presence of systolic dysfunction, the presence of a subaortic gradient of more than 30 mmHg or a pulmonary artery systolic pressure value of more than 50 mmHg in the absence of obstruction in the right ventricular outflow tract [ 105 ]. In addition to transthoracic echocardiography, transesophageal echocardiography is an additional imaging investigation required for patients with IE and mechanical valve prosthesis [ 106 ].…”

Assessment of Cardiac Function in Pregnant Females of a Tertiary Care Hospital of East Uttar Pradesh: A Cross-sectional Study

“…Factors contributing to this increase include advanced age, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and underlying congenital heart disease. 8 Pregnancy represents a potentially high-risk period for women with pre-existing cardiovascular disease due to the significant haemodynamic changes that occur. Echocardiography remains the preferred and commonly accessible imaging modality for diagnosing and monitoring cardiovascular disease in pregnant women due to its wide availability and lack of radiation exposure.…”

Women’s Cardiovascular Health: Prioritizing the Majority Minority

“…A combination of demographics, clinical characteristics and vital signs appears to be useful for screening those at risk for cardiovascular decompensation peripartum, with a new CVD algorithm and toolkit that can be built into routine visits [ 6 ]. Additionally, echocardiography, even in low-risk individuals and especially in those who have hypertension or obesity, may reveal abnormal findings which could be important in risk stratification or treatment [ 7 ]. Lastly, a point-of-care ultrasound of the heart and lungs on the Labor and Delivery ward affords the quicker triaging of cardiac versus non-cardiac diagnoses, such as acute congestive heart failure [ 8 ].…”