Can pregnancy cause heart valve problems?

Can pregnancy cause heart valve problems?

Heart valve issues. If your valves aren’t working properly, you might have trouble tolerating the increased blood flow that occurs during pregnancy. In addition, artificial or abnormal valves carry an increased risk of a potentially life-threatening infection of the lining of the heart (endocarditis) and heart valves.

What is the most common heart disease in pregnancy?

Congenital heart defects are the most common heart problems that affect women of childbearing age. These include shunt lesions, obstructive lesions, complex lesions and cyanotic heart disease. Shunt lesions are the simplest and most common congenital heart defects.

Which valvular heart disease causes death during Labour?

Mitral stenosis (MS), the most common manifestation of rheumatic heart disease, remains the most common acquired valvular lesion in pregnant women and the most common cause of maternal death from cardiac causes worldwide.

How do you manage heart disease during pregnancy?

Women with heart failure can be safely treated with diuretics, digoxin, and hydralazine, nitrates, or both as vasodilators to offload the left ventricle. Additional fetal assessments may be needed in order to monitor for potential problems arising from pharmacological treatment of the mother (Table 2).

How is heart disease diagnosed in pregnancy?

To find out how your heart condition is affecting your pregnancy, your doctor may do lab or diagnostic tests, such as an echocardiogram or an electrocardiogram (EKG). Both are safe for you and your baby.

What are the signs and symptoms of heart disease in pregnancy?

Heart disease during pregnancy can cause the following signs and symptoms:

  • Chest pain.
  • Lightheadedness/Fainting.
  • Fatigue.
  • Rapid heart rate (tachycardia) of more than 100 beats per minute.
  • Increased need to urinate at night.
  • Persistent cough.
  • Severe shortness of breath.
  • Swelling of feet, hands, ankles, and arms.

Is valve regurgitation normal in pregnancy?

Mitral valve regurgitation, even when severe, is usually very well tolerated in pregnancy as the increase in volume is offset by a decrease in vascular resistance.

How does mitral valve prolapse affect pregnancy?

found that mothers with MVP were significantly more likely to have neonates with low body weight, preterm birth and cesarean delivery, and found that the distributions of outcomes including intrapartum complications, low Apgar scores, and congenital malformation did not differ significantly between women with and those …

When is the most critical time for a woman with heart disease?

12,13 The most critical time for the parturient with cardiovascular disease, however, is peripartum. During labor, the increase in catecholamines leads to a marked increase in maternal heart rate and cardiac output.