We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Study Shows Women at Highest HF Risk following Delivery

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 19 Apr 2018
Print article
A new study finds that women are at the highest risk for heart failure (HF) within the six weeks of delivery, known as the postpartum period.

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago (UIC, USA), Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN, USA) and other institutions conducted a study to examine HF prevalence, correlates, and outcomes among pregnancy-related hospitalizations in over 50 million women (13 to 49 years of age), using data drawn from the 2001 to 2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS); rates of HF were calculated by patient and hospital characteristics.

The results revealed that although less than two percent of all pregnancy-related hospitalizations occurred during the postpartum period, nearly 60% of pregnancy-related HF hospitalizations took place during the same time, followed by those during delivery (27.3%) and during the antepartum period (13.2%). Among postpartum hospitalizations, there was a significant annual increase in HF from 2001 to 2006, followed by a steady rate through 2011.

The women who had a HF diagnosis, both before and after giving birth, tended to be older and black, lived in the southern United States, lived in low-income household areas, and engaged in harmful behaviors that included tobacco smoking, drug and other psychoactive substance abuse, and alcohol consumption. Women with HF were also more likely to experience adverse maternal outcomes. The study was published in the January 2018 issue of Circulation: Heart Failure.

"Health education about expectations and their risk status during delivery-related hospitalization may empower women to seek immediate support from their social network and healthcare provider,” said lead author Mulubrhan Mogos, PhD, MSc, assistant professor of nursing at UIC. “There is a need for increased awareness and public health measures to address risk factors and promote prevention strategies among historically disadvantaged groups.”

Heart failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood through to meet the body's needs for blood and oxygen. Over time, the heart's pumping action grows weaker. Right-side HF occurs if the heart cannot pump enough blood to the lungs to accumulate oxygen; left-side heart failure occurs if the heart cannot pump enough oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body. The leading causes of HF include coronary heart disease (CHD), high blood pressure (BP), and diabetes.

Related Links:
University of Illinois in Chicago
Vanderbilt University
Gold Member
Real-Time Diagnostics Onscreen Viewer
GEMweb Live
Gold Member
Solid State Kv/Dose Multi-Sensor
AGMS-DM+
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
X-Ray Detector
FDR-D-EVO III

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: The permeable wearable electronics developed for long-term biosignal monitoring (Photo courtesy of CityUHK)

Super Permeable Wearable Electronics Enable Long-Term Biosignal Monitoring

Wearable electronics have become integral to enhancing health and fitness by offering continuous tracking of physiological signals over extended periods. This monitoring is crucial for understanding an... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: NTT and Olympus have begun the world\'s first joint demonstration experiment of a cloud endoscopy system (Photo courtesy of Olympus)

Cloud Endoscopy System Enables Real-Time Image Processing on the Cloud

Endoscopes, which are flexible tubes inserted into the body's natural openings for internal examination and biopsy collection, are becoming increasingly vital in medical diagnostics. Their minimal invasiveness... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The PATHFAST hs-cTnI-II high-sensitivity troponin assay has been developed for the PATHFAST Biomarker Analyzer (Photo courtesy of Polymedco)

POC Myocardial Infarction Test Delivers Results in 17 Minutes

Chest pain is the second leading cause of emergency department (ED) visits by adults in the United States, generating over 7 million visits annually. In the event of a suspected heart attack, physicians... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.