Number of pregnancies can increase risk of heart failure later in life — Herald Sun

Women who have been pregnant at least three times are at a greater risk of heart failure later in life, new Melbourne research has found.

And given there are few effective treatments for this emerging type of heart disease, which has only come to the attention of doctors in the past decade, the researchers say it is even more important mothers are aware of the risk and make healthy lifestyle changes to prevent its onset.

The study by the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and The Alfred, looked into why twice as many women as men have “stiff heart syndrome”, a type of disease where healthy heart tissue is replaced by protein deposits.

Lead researcher Dr Anna Beale, a PhD candidate and cardiology trainee, analysed the results of a heart disease diagnosis test — conducted both at rest and during exercise — that measured the heart pressure of 58 Victorian women in their 60s and 70s.

Those women who had at least three children were not able to exercise as long, the pressures in their heart rose higher during exercise and they had stiffer arteries, particularly in their lungs.

“All of these findings ­together suggest they have a more severe type of stiff heart syndrome, and it explains the common symptoms of ­becoming extremely breathless with minimal exercise,” Dr Beale said.

“When you have a pregnancy the blood flow through the body has to increase by about 30–50%.

“It’s associated with significant changes to the heart muscle, and vessels in the body have to adapt.

“We hypothesised that because the heart has to change for pregnancy and it changes back, and if you repeatedly do this, this then leads to stiffening of the heart muscle.”

The findings were presented at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the Cardiac ­Society of Australia and New Zealand.

Dr Beale said given there were few effective treatments for the symptoms prevention was the current best option.

“As a scientific community we’re trying to better understand if there are different types of it because people may respond differently to different treatment,” she said.

Mother of three Noelia Panayiotidis said she ­welcomed the research as it empowered women like her to take control of their health.

“If you’re able to know something before hand you can at least investigate, have check-ups and do something about it and take action if you need,” Ms Panayiotidis said.

— originally published in the Herald Sun, 14 August 2019