Pregnancy and Your Heart
Thinking about having a baby, but you have a heart condition? Here are some helpful facts and tips that can help you begin your journey towards pregnancy. Pregnancy stresses your heart and circulatory system. During pregnancies, your blood volume will increase by thirty to fifty percent as well as your heart rate. It is these changes that cause your heart to work harder.
Of course, labor and delivery increases your heart rate as well, during the delivery stage, but there are certain heart conditions that do cause more complications than others. These conditions include high blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart. (Pulmonary hypertension), severely obstructed blood flow between the left chambers of the heart. (Mitral valve stenosis), and Eisenmenger’s syndrome, a rare congenital condition, which is often characterized by a large hole in the heart and high blood pressure in the arteries in the lungs. These conditions could require major treatment, which may even result in heart surgery. Women who have severe pulmonary hypertension or Eisenmenger’s syndrome are usually not recommended to have children.
In our era, women are getting pregnant at an older age and as a result their cardiovascular system needs to be evaluated. Anyone with hypertension, diabetes, or family history of heart disease is at a higher risk for developing heart disease and developing potential cardiac complications during pregnancies. Therefore, it is imperative to screen for any congenital abnormalities or signs such as chest pain, shortness of breath, dizziness, heart palpitations, light headiness, or any leg swelling.
Pre-Pregnancy Heart Tests
Our doctors may recommend the following testing for a woman who is planning a pregnancy:
We are here to help you through a healthy pregnancy and answer any of your questions at Heart and Health.
Heart and Health PLLC
La Grande Place
1350 Deer Park Ave
North Babylon, NY, 11703
(631)-482-1355