title: Use and impact of cardiac medication during pregnancy.
abstract: Cardiovascular disease is the most encountered cause of maternal death during pregnancy in the western world and an increase in maternal mortality due to cardiac causes has been observed. More women with congenital or acquired heart disease have the desire to become pregnant. Pregnancy is known to impose a major hemodynamic burden and also has impacts on the coagulation system. The risk of developing complications is clearly increased as compared with the normal population. For optimal management, it is crucial to have information on the effects of cardiac medications on the fetus. The focus of this article is to discuss the management of cardiac disease in pregnancy, as well as the known safety of cardiac medications for the mother and/or fetus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Thorax Center, Erasmus Medical Center, 's-Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Annemien E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: van den Bosch
authors.forename: Titia P E
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Ruys
authors.forename: Jolien W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Roos-Hesselink
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D002302:Cardiac Output / Q000502:physiology; D002317:Cardiovascular Agents / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D002317:Cardiovascular Agents
keywords: acquired heart disease; antiarrhytmic; anticoagulant; antihypertensive; congenital heart disease; pregnancy