Mothers with Heart Defects Infants in CVD Risk

A Canadian cohort study suggested that congenital heart defects in offspring may be an early marker of predisposition to cardiovascular disease (CVD). The study included 1 084 251 women who had delivered infants between 1989 and 2013, with follow-up extending up to 25 years past pregnancy. Women whose infants had heart defects had a higher overall incidence of CVD hospitalization. There were 3.38 cardiovascular hospitalizations per 1000 person-years for those with critical defects, 3.19 for noncritical defects, and 2.42 for no heart defects. In comparison with no heart defects, the hazard ratio was 1.43 and 1.24 for CVD hospitalization for women whose infants had critical defects and noncritical defects, respectively. Source: http://circ.ahajournals.org/