women s health issues
Heart Disease During Pregnancy
Introduction
Most women who have heart disease—including certain heart valve disorders (such as Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) ) and some birth defects of the heart—can safely give birth to healthy children, without any permanent ill effects on heart function or life span. However, women who have moderate or severe For women with some types of heart disease, pregnancy is inadvisable because it increases the risk of death. These include Severe Pulmonary Hypertension (high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs) Certain Overview of Heart Defects , including some cases of Sometimes Marfan Syndrome (a hereditary connective tissue disorder) Severe Aortic Stenosis (narrowing of opening of the aortic heart valve) Severe Mitral Stenosis (narrowing of opening of the mitral heart valve) An aortic valve with two instead of the normal three flaps and an enlarged aorta Heart damage ( Overview of Cardiomyopathy ) that occurred in a previous pregnancy Moderate or severe Heart Failure (HF) None If women who have one of these disorders become pregnant, doctors advise them to terminate the pregnancy as early as possible. Pregnancy requires the heart to work harder. Consequently, pregnancy may worsen heart disease or cause heart disease to cause symptoms for the first time. Usually, the risk of death (to the woman or fetus) is increased only when heart disease was severe before the woman became pregnant. However, depending on the type and severity of the heart disease, serious complications may develop. These complications include accumulation of fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema), an Overview of Abnormal Heart Rhythms , and The risk of problems increases throughout pregnancy as demands on the heart increase. Pregnant women with heart disease may become unusually tired and may need to limit their activities. Rarely, women with severe heart disease are advised to have an abortion early in pregnancy. Risk is also increased during labor and delivery. After delivery, women with severe heart disease may not be out of danger for 6 months, depending on the type of heart disease. Heart disease in pregnant women may affect the fetus. The fetus may be born prematurely. Women with certain Overview of Heart Defects are more likely to have children with similar birth defects. Ultrasonography can detect some of these defects before the fetus is born. If severe heart disease in a pregnant woman suddenly worsens, the fetus may die. 