Heart disease in pregnancy? Cardiology Basics

Heart disease in pregnancy? Cardiology Basics Changes in blood circulation during pregnancy and labour can adversely affect many of the significant heart diseases. Increase in blood volume and heart rate are the important factors during pregnancy. Increase in blood volume is needed to give enough nutrients and oxygen to the growing baby. Nutrients and oxygen are transferred to the baby through the placenta during pregnancy, though there is no actual mixing of the blood of the baby and mother. In general, obstructive lesions and complex cyanotic congenital heart diseases have high risk in pregnancy. Obstructive lesions like severe aortic stenosis and mitral stenosis and lesions with severe pulmonary hypertension like Eisenmenger syndrome are poorly tolerated in pregnancy. Regurgitant lesions aortic and mitral regurgitation are better tolerated than stenotic lesions of the heart valves. Peripheral vasodilatation in pregnancy reduces the afterload and ameliorates regurgitant lesions. Increased blood volume and heart rate in pregnancy increases the chance of pulmonary edema in severe mitral stenosis. Especially high risk is there in coarctation of aorta in which there is a discrete narrowing of a region of the aorta. When there is obstruction, blood pressure in the part of the aorta upstream to the obstruction is high. This can predispose to aortic dissection and even rupture, especially while straining during labour. World health organization has classified heart diseases into f...
Source: Cardiophile MD - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: General Cardiology Source Type: blogs