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Newswise — Rockville, Md. (June 11, 2024)— The hearts of pregnant rats with high blood pressure increase in size more than rats experiencing a normal pregnancy, according to computer model predictions. The model, developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota, also forecasts two different post-delivery outcomes depending on whether the rats were allowed to nurse their offspring.

The results of the study are published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology . It has been chosen as an APS select article for June. There are a lot of unknowns about how the body changes during—and after—pregnancy.



This study sought to uncover what causes these complex changes, particularly in the heart, which grows throughout pregnancy to support those changes. Researchers wanted to see if their model could predict what happens after delivery or during a more complicated pregnancy, such as those affected by high blood pressure. Heart problems are the number one cause of death during pregnancy and in the year following delivery.

In many cases, heart problems did not exist before pregnancy. These conditions are hard to diagnose because changes associated with high blood pressure and heart failure closely resemble changes seen in a healthy pregnancy. This study demonstrated that a computer model could differentiate between healthy and unhealthy heart growth based on fluctuating hormone levels and blood flow patterns.

These factors can be measured noninv.

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