Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy Linked to Risk for CVD

FRIDAY, Feb. 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Genetic evidence indicates that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) are associated with an increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, specifically coronary artery disease and ischemic stroke, according to a study published online Feb. 16 in JAMA Network Open.

Bilal Rayes, from the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College London, and colleagues examined the association of HDPs with cardiovascular disease in a genome-wide genetic association study using Mendelian randomization. Genetic association estimates were extracted from genome-wide association studies of 122,733 cases for coronary artery disease; 34,217 cases for ischemic stroke; 47,309 cases for heart failure; and 60,620 cases for atrial fibrillation.

The researchers found that genetically predicted HDPs were associated with an elevated risk for coronary artery disease (odds ratio, 1.24); the association was seen for both gestational hypertension and preeclampsia/eclampsia (odds ratios, 1.08 and 1.06, respectively). An increased risk for ischemic stroke was also seen in association with genetically predicted HDPs (adjusted odds ratio, 1.27). The effect of HDPs on coronary artery disease was partially attenuated after adjustment for systolic blood pressure (total effect odds ratio, 1.24; direct effect odds ratio, 1.10) and type 2 diabetes (total effect odds ratio, 1.24; direct effect odds ratio, 1.16). Genetically predicted HDPs were not associated with heart failure or atrial fibrillation.

"Broadly, these results support emerging recommendations to consider HDPs as important sex-specific risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text