When a woman gets pregnant, doctors tell her to take certain precautions to ensure she and her baby remain healthy. But now there’s another person whose health matters as well…
Your body changes significantly during pregnancy, and not just in your waistline.
“Heart rate can vary. And those kinds of shifts can affect people differently,” stated Dr. Laxmi Mehta, a cardiologist at The Ohio State University.
Even long after giving birth.
“No, what people don’t also realize is that pregnancy-related conditions can affect them long-term,” Mehta said.
For example, according to the NIH, if you have a complicated pregnancy, you’re more likely to develop heart disease later on — especially if you’re obese.
But a new study out of Sweden finds that someone else also plays a role in your heart disease risk: your sister.
If she had a complicated pregnancy, you have an almost 40% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life, even if you didn’t have pregnancy complications yourself.
“For all women, before getting pregnant, should be meeting with their family doctor or their gynecologist,” Mehta said.
Women’s health experts say to have those meetings early with your entire healthcare team, including a cardiologist. That way, you can get preventive treatments and lifestyle counseling as necessary.
“As a combined group, we can look at what’s the best outcome for the patient and the baby,” Mehta told Ivanhoe.
Health experts say following a heart healthy diet, as outlined by the American Heart Association before, during and after pregnancy are important. That includes limiting salt intake and minimizing processed foods as well as added sugar.