Women treated for infertility are twice as likely to develop heart disease within a year of delivery They are particularly at risk for dangerously high blood pressure However, the women’s youth typically kept their overall heart risk relatively low, researchers say MONDAY, May 20, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Women treated for infertility were twice as likely as those who conceived naturally to be hospitalized with within a year of delivery, recent research shows. They are particularly likely to land in the hospital with dangerously high blood pressure, with risks more than double that of moms who didn’t receive fertility therapy, researchers found. These results support recommendations that women have a first postpartum checkup three weeks after delivery, researchers said.
Some health systems have yet to adopt those standards. “Postpartum checkups are necessary for all patients, but this study indicates they are particularly important for patients who undergo infertility treatment to achieve a conception,” said lead researcher , an obstetrics and gynecology resident at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in New Jersey. Most of the higher risk came in the first month after delivery, particularly for women who developed dangerously high blood pressure, researchers said.
“And these results aren’t the only ones to indicate that follow-up should occur early,” said senior researcher , chief of epidemiology and biostatistics in the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medi.