title: Pre-eclamptic pregnancies: an opportunity to identify women at risk for future cardiovascular disease.
abstract: Evaluation of: Bellamy L, Casas JP, Hingorani AD, Williams DJ: Pre-eclampsia and risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer in later life: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br. Med. J. 335(7627), 974 (2007). Evidence has emerged over the years suggesting that women who develop hypertensive pregnancy disorders, most notably pre-eclampsia, are at an increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life. In this study, a systematic review and meta-analysis were performed, assessing the future risks of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality in women with a history of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. Women with a history of pre-eclampsia or eclampsia, compared with women without such a history, had an increased risk for cardiovascular disease, including a fourfold increased risk for hypertension, a twofold increased risk for ischemic heart disease, stroke and deep venous thrombosis, and a 1.5-times higher all-cause mortality. The study suggests that affected women may be eligible for preventive therapies at an earlier age, especially if future studies establish the role of pre-eclampsia as an independent cardiovascular risk factor.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Divisions of Nephrology & Hypertension, Department of Medicine, 200 First Street, SW Rochester, MN 55905, USA. craici.iasmina@mayo.edu
authors.forename: Iasmina M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Craici
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Suzanne R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Hayman
authors.forename: Vesna D
authors.initials: VD
authors.lastname: Garovic