General Considerations

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Women with heart disease are more likely to have a problem during pregnancy than women with a normal heart. Assessing the risk of pregnancy is best done prior to pregnancy.

What are the risks of pregnancy for me?

The main heart complications that arise during pregnancy in women with heart disease are:

  • Heart rhythm disturbances (medical term: arrhythmias)
  • Weakening of the heart muscle (medical term: heart failure)
  • Heart infections (medical term: endocarditis)
  • Strokes
  • Heart attacks (medical term: myocardial infarction)
  • Death

There are several issues that need to be considered when determining risk of heart problems during pregnancy:

1. Your underlying heart condition
Some heart conditions are associated with more pregnancy complications than others.

2. Other heart changes
Some heart changes make pregnancy more difficult to tolerate:

  • heart muscle weakness (medical term: ventricular dysfunction)
  • narrowed heart valves (medical term: stenosis)
  • leaky heart valves (medical term: regurgitation)
  • high blood pressure in the lungs (medical term: pulmonary hypertension

3. Your overall fitness
If you easily become winded with exercise, you may have more difficulty with the stress of pregnancy.

4. Your oxygen levels
If you oxygen levels are low you may have more difficulty with the stress of pregnancy.

5. History of cardiac problems
If you have had problems with abnormal heart rhythm (medical term: arrhythmias), heart failure (medical term: heart failure) and/or admission to hospital for heart-related issues, you have an increased risk for complications during pregnancy.

Every pregnancy carries some risk for complications and this risk may be increased by your underlying heart disease. All women have to consider the safety of a pregnancy taking their underlying heart disease into account. Every person’s heart condition is different and therefore the safety of pregnancy differs too. Before proceeding with trying to have a baby you should discuss your specific condition and the details of your situation with a heart specialist who knows about the care of women with heart disease in pregnancy.

Women with some heart conditions are at increased risk for other medical problems including high blood pressure (medical term: hypertension), bleeding after delivery (medical term: postpartum hemorrhage), or blood clots (medical term: deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolus).