Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Long-Term Risk of Heart Failure in Women

JACC Heart FailPublished

  • Retrospective cohort study
  • national
  • population-based
  • co-sibling analyses

Authors' conclusion

In this large national cohort, women who experienced any of 5 major adverse pregnancy outcomes had increased risk for HF up to 46 years later.

Study context

Population
Women with a singleton delivery in Sweden, 1973–2015, followed for heart failure (HF) through 2018667,774 (30%) with adverse outcome
Participants
2,201,638 women
Exposure
Adverse pregnancy outcomes vs none
Outcome
HF (nationwide outpatient and inpatient diagnoses)
Follow-up
Up to 46 years after delivery

Main finding

As reported in the abstract

HF
Adjusted hazard ratio (95% CI)
Gestational diabetes
2.19(1.95–2.45)
Preterm delivery
1.68(1.61–1.75)
Other hypertensive disorders
1.68(1.48–1.90)
Preeclampsia
1.59(1.53–1.66)
Small for gestational age
1.35(1.31–1.40)
HF diagnosed (median age, 61 years)
19,922 (0.9%)

Observational data: associations, not effects.

Further findings

HF by number of adverse pregnancy outcomes · up to 46 years after delivery

Comparisonadjusted HR (95% CI)
11.51 (1.47–1.56)
22.31 (2.19–2.45)
≥33.18 (2.85–3.56)

HF 30 to 46 years after delivery

All HRs remained significantly elevated
1.3- to 3.0-fold

Co-sibling analyses

Findings only partially explained by shared familial factors

Original publication

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Long-Term Risk of Heart Failure in Women. JACC Heart Fail. Published 22 January 2025. doi:10.1016/j.jchf.2024.11.004

Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it