Giving hopes to millions of women a new study says that heart disease is not an impediment to having babies if proper care is taken.
The findings based on the world's first registry of pregnancy and heart disease found a significant number of pregnant women, under proper evaluation and care, having a smooth as well as trouble-free pregnancy and successful delivery.
The study published in the European Heart Journal, reported death risks high in developing countries (3.9 percent women and 6.5 babies) than developed countries (0.6 percent women and 0.9 babies) due to the lack of proper facilities.
The findings come at a time when about 0.9 percent of pregnant women in the world suffer from some kind of heart disease. The European Registry on Pregnancy and Heart Disease was formed in 2007, after noticing an increase in pregnancy related deaths among heart disease patients and to examine the factors to tackle the cases.
Researchers based their findings on more than 1,300 pregnant women, having some kind of heart disease and under the guidance and supervision of about 60 hospitals in 28 countries, between 2007 and 2011.
The data showed more than half of the women (66 percent) affected with congenital heart disease (CHD) that affects the structure and function of heart from birth. The other common heart problems were valvular heart disease (VHD), a condition of having one or more valves in the heart (25 percent); cardiomyopathy (CMP - 7 percent); ischaemic heart disease (IHD) andlack of sufficient blood supply to the heart, thus leading to heart attack (2 percent).
Researchers found the risk of death and other heart complications high among women with CMP. According to the authors, in cardiomyopathy, the weakening of the heart muscle escalates the risks of heart failure.
Due to early diagnosis, CHD patients' treatment and care showed good outcomes.
"The most striking findings from this study were these differences between different parts of the world, with worse outcomes in developing countries. Our Egyptian colleagues explained there are important cultural factors influencing the results. For instance, it is very important in Egypt to have a child in order to deserve respect. Therefore, women will become pregnant there although they are aware of the very high risks," Professor Jolien Roos-Hesselink, Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease Programme at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, said in a statement.
After reaching a conclusion, the researchers urged medical practitioners to provide proper care to ensure a safe pregnancy for heart patients.
"These data show large differences between groups and that some groups do very well, while others do not, and especially patients with a cardiomyopathy are at risk and should be counseled and followed carefully. In addition, fetal outcome, as well as maternal outcome, can be hampered and influenced by the mother's disease," Roos-Hesselink said.
