
High blood pressure during pregnancy raises heart risk later
Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Women with a history of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy show signs of significant changes in the structure and function of their hearts 10 years after childbirth, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Among those who experienced preeclampsia or gestational hypertension and still had high blood pressure 8 to 10 years after giving birth, nearly four of five women had left ventricular remodeling, or relative thickening of the walls of their left ventricles, the data showed. Advertisement Just over one-third of women who had neither had evidence of these structural heart changes up to 10 years after childbirth. Left ventricular remodeling is a process by which the heart changes in size, shape and function. It is co...