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Women's Cardiovascular Healthcare Foundation
Agir pour le Coeur des Femmes
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Cardiovascular Risk and Pregnancy

Dr. Marilucy Lopez-Sublet, Vice President of the French Society of Hypertension and Vice President of the Scientific Council of our Agir pour le Cœur des Femmes Foundation, alerts us to the importance of preconception counseling to screen for and/or manage cardiovascular risk factors in order to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

Cardiovascular Risk and Pregnancy

Did you know that up to a quarter of maternal deaths can be prevented through early identification of cardiovascular risks?

In August 2026, the prestigious journal *The Lancet* published several scientific articles on the presence of cardiovascular risk in pregnant women and the impact on their health, which can persist beyond childbirth. For example, gestational hypertension is associated with a 6-fold higher risk of developing chronic hypertension (i.e., lifelong hypertension), while preeclampsia (a more severe form of pregnancy-induced hypertension associated in particular with kidney damage) increases the risk of heart failure by 3.5 times.

Therefore, be sure to identify your risk factors—such as advanced age, being overweight or obese, or having diabetes—before becoming pregnant…check your blood pressure by self-monitoring it over 3 days using an automatic upper-arm blood pressure monitor before each medical appointment (use the self-monitoring guides available for free download at www.agirpourle coeurdesfemmes.com)

There are 2 billion women of childbearing age worldwide….If this applies to you, keep in mind that seeking early consultation to identify and manage these risk factors before pregnancy is key to securing your future and that of your family.


 
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