Depression around pregnancy could increase heart risks in women

By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, April 19, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Depression during pregnancy may be linked to heart disease as early as two years later, according to new research.

“We need to use pregnancy as a window into future health,” said the study’s lead author. Dr. Christina Ackerman-Banksassistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology-maternal fetal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston.

“Complications during pregnancy, including prenatal depression, impact long-term cardiovascular health,” she said in a press release. “The postpartum period provides an opportunity to counsel and screen people with cardiovascular disease to prevent these outcomes.”

About 20% of women suffer from depression during pregnancy, the researchers noted. They shouldn’t panic because the study doesn’t prove a direct cause and effect relationship between depression and heart disease, only an association.

Researchers found the most significant association was between depression and ischemic heart disease (narrowing of the arteries), with depressed women having an 83% higher risk of developing the condition within two years of giving birth than those without. diagnosis of depression. When the arteries are narrowed, less blood and oxygen reach the heart muscle. This can lead to a heart attack, explains the American Heart Association.

“I recommend that anyone diagnosed with prenatal depression be aware of the implications for their long-term cardiovascular health, take steps to screen for other risk factors, and consult with their primary care physician to implement disease prevention strategies. cardiovascular,” Ackerman- said Banks.

“They should also be screened for type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol, and institute an exercise regimen, healthy diet, and stop smoking,” she added.

Although it is well established that depressed men and women are more likely to develop heart disease later in life, little research has been done on prenatal depression.

For this study, researchers analyzed data from an insurance claims database for more than 100,000 women who gave birth in Maine between 2007 and 2019.

The team adjusted for potential confounders such as smoking; age at time of delivery; preeclampsia, a complication of pregnancy; and diabetes, depression and hypertension before pregnancy. Next, they estimated the risk of developing six major heart diseases: heart failure, narrowing of the arteries, arrhythmia/cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy, stroke and high blood pressure within two years of giving birth.

The estimated cumulative risk of heart disease was significantly higher in people with depression than in those without, the researchers found.

People with depression not only had an 83% higher risk of narrowing of the arteries, but a 60% higher risk of arrhythmia/cardiac arrest (electrical problems of the heart) and a 61% higher risk of cardiomyopathy ( heart muscle disease). They also had a 32% higher risk of a new diagnosis of high blood pressure.

After excluding women with high blood pressure during pregnancy, researchers found that women with prenatal depression had an 85% higher risk of arrhythmia/cardiac arrest, an 84% higher risk of narrowing of the arteries, a 42% higher risk of stroke, a 53% higher risk of cardiomyopathy and a 43% higher risk of a new diagnosis of high blood pressure.

The heart association notes that heart disease is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in high-income countries, including the United States. Other pregnancy-related issues, such as chronic inflammation and increased stress-related hormones, may also contribute to heart disease, the study authors said.

The study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Heart Associationpress release, April 19, 2023

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