Increased Risk of Pregnancy Complications After Stroke [Clinical Sciences]

Background and Purpose—The study goal was to investigate the prevalence of pregnancy complications and pregnancy loss in women before, during, and after young ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack.Methods—In the FUTURE study (Follow-Up of Transient Ischemic Attack and Stroke Patients and Unelucidated Risk Factor Evaluation), a prospective young stroke study, we assessed the occurrence of pregnancy, miscarriages, and pregnancy complications in 223 women aged 18 to 50 years with a first-ever ischemic stroke/transient ischemic attack. Pregnancy complications (gestational hypertension, diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, and hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelet count syndrome) were assessed before, during, and after stroke using standardized questionnaires. Primary outcome was occurrence of pregnancy complications and the rate of pregnancy loss compared with the Dutch population. Secondary outcome was the risk of recurrent vascular events after stroke, stratified by a history of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy.Results—Data were available for 213 patients. Mean age at event was 39.6 years (SD=7.8) and mean follow-up 9.5 years (SD=8.5). Miscarriages occurred in 35.2% and fetal death in 6.2% versus 13.5% and 0.9% in the Dutch population, respectively (P

Source: Stroke - March 26, 2018 Category: Neurology Authors: Mayte E. van Alebeek, Myrthe de Vrijer, Renate M. Arntz, Noortje A.M.M. Maaijwee, Nathalie E. Synhaeve, Hennie Schoonderwaldt, Maureen J. van der Vlugt, Ewoud J. van Dijk, Roel de Heus, Loes C.A. Rutten-Jacobs, Frank-Erik de Leeuw Tags: Cerebrovascular Disease/Stroke, Ischemic Stroke Original Contributions Source Type: research