Postpartum Cardiovascular Health in African Women Following Pre‐Eclampsia: A Prospective Cohort Study

TL;DR

Black African women who had pre-eclampsia are at higher risk of hypertension and heart issues one year after giving birth, highlighting the need for postpartum monitoring.

Contribution

This study is the first to assess long-term cardiovascular risks in Black African women with pre-eclampsia in a low-resource setting.

Findings

Women with pre-eclampsia had a 36.4% hypertension rate versus 4.5% in controls one year postpartum.

Pre-eclampsia was associated with higher aortic pulse wave velocity and left ventricular mass index.

Left ventricular ejection fraction was not affected by pre-eclampsia.

Abstract

To investigate the prevalence of hypertension and cardiovascular dysfunction 1 year postpartum in Black African women who experienced pre‐eclampsia in a low‐resource setting in Uganda.

Prospective cohort study.

Tertiary referral hospital in urban Uganda.

Pregnant women who developed pre‐eclampsia between 2019 and 2021, matched to normotensive controls with maternal and gestational age.

Sociodemographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected at recruitment and 1 year postpartum. Baseline characteristics and incidence rate ratios were calculated to assess risk factors for developing hypertension. Multivariable conditional Poisson regression adjusted for matched study design was used to analyse outcomes.

The primary outcome was hypertension (≥ 140/≥ 90 mmHg) at 1 year postpartum. Secondary outcomes included aortic pulse wave velocity, left ventricular mass index, and left ventricular ejection fraction at 1 year postpartum.

At one‐year postpartum, hypertension prevalence was higher among women with pre‐eclampsia than controls (36.4% (96/264) versus 4.5% (12/264); aIRR 1.26, 95% CI 1.16–1.36, p < 0.001). Postpartum median aortic pulse wave velocity was increased in women with pre‐eclampsia (6.45 ± 0.76 m/s vs. 5.67 ± 0.22 m/s, p < 0.001). Left ventricular mass indexed to body surface area was increased in women with pre‐eclampsia (71.7 ± 19.6 g vs. 76.5 ± 23.2 g, p < 0.01). Left ventricular ejection fraction was not influenced by pre‐eclampsia (p = 0.35).

In this low‐resource setting, black African women with pre‐eclampsia had increased cardiovascular risk markers at one year postpartum. Over one‐third of women with pre‐eclampsia developed hypertension at one year postpartum, emphasising the need for postpartum blood pressure monitoring and early intervention to mitigate long‐term cardiovascular risk in this high‐risk population.

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