When Tania Saiz suffered a stroke at just 47 years old, she was left searching for answers. With no known family history of cardiovascular disease and no significant health issues prior to the episode, the cause seemed mysterious. Her investigation led her to a critical clue from nearly two decades earlier: a diagnosis of preeclampsia during her pregnancy.
This dangerous condition, characterized by a sudden spike in blood pressure, had never been discussed as a long-term health risk beyond her initial postpartum recovery. Like many women, Saiz discovered too late that her pregnancy complication had dramatically raised her lifetime risk for stroke.
The Hidden Health Window
For generations, modern medicine has treated pregnancy as a temporary nine-month phase in a woman's medical journey. The prevailing assumption was that after delivery, a woman's body essentially returned to its pre-pregnancy state. However, emerging evidence is fundamentally challenging this perspective.
Experts now recognize that pregnancy serves as a unique window into a woman's future health, providing valuable clues about her long-term risk for serious conditions including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
What happens during pregnancy doesn't just end when the baby is born, said Saiz, now 52 and a volunteer patient educator for the American Heart Association. She reflects that earlier knowledge could have enabled preventive measures.
Significant Long-Term Health Connections
The correlation between common pregnancy complications and subsequent cardiovascular and metabolic health issues is substantial according to medical research. Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, which include preeclampsia and affect approximately 15% of pregnancies in the United States, create elevated risks for nearly every cardiovascular condition.
Women with this history face increased likelihood of developing chronic high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and stroke. A concerning Mayo Clinic study published last year indicates these women develop coronary artery disease an average of seven years earlier than those without such pregnancy complications.
The risks are striking, emphasized Dr. Vesna Garovic, co-author of the study and chair of nephrology and hypertension at the Mayo Clinic.
Similarly, gestational diabetes affects up to 10% of pregnancies and creates dramatic future health implications. Women with this history are approximately ten times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes compared to those without gestational diabetes, which itself significantly increases risks for heart disease, stroke, and dementia.
Dr. Sarah Lassey, co-director of the Diabetes in Pregnancy Program at Brigham and Women's Hospital, describes gestational diabetes as a red flag indicating underlying insulin resistance that may manifest as diabetes later in life.
Critical Awareness Gap in Healthcare
Despite the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology updating their guidelines nearly fifteen years ago to include pregnancy complications as official risk factors, this knowledge has been slow to reach both medical education and clinical practice.
Many healthcare providers remain unaware of these significant connections, creating a knowledge gap that inevitably filters down to patients. Standard medical intake forms typically don't inquire about pregnancy complications, and obstetric records rarely follow women throughout their healthcare journey.
Dr. Gina Lundberg, clinical director of the Emory Women's Heart Center, notes that more women die of heart disease than anything else, and we do not know all the risk factors.
The situation creates what Dr. Amy Yu, a stroke neurologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, describes as a missed opportunity for disease prevention. Her recent research found that less than half of women who experienced cardiovascular or metabolic complications during pregnancy received basic follow-up screening for blood pressure, cholesterol, or blood sugar in the three years following delivery.
Taking Control of Your Health Future
Medical experts emphasize that women who experienced pregnancy complications have been given what Eleni Tsigas, CEO of the Preeclampsia Foundation, calls the gift of a crystal ball. Rather than waiting for disease diagnoses, women can take proactive steps to protect their health.
Healthcare recommendations include:
- Discussing pregnancy complication history with primary care providers, even if not asked
- Requesting more frequent screening for diabetes and heart disease based on medical history
- Maintaining regular blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar monitoring
- Adopting heart-healthy dietary patterns
- Following physical activity guidelines from the American Heart Association
- Prioritizing stress management and quality sleep
As Dr. Lauren Hassen, director of the Cardiology Postpartum Transition Clinic at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, observes, women often put themselves last when caring for families. She and other experts hope that understanding these significant health risks will motivate women to prioritize their own wellbeing.
For Tania Saiz, this knowledge came too late. That was never afforded to me, she said regarding the opportunity for preventive care. I think that's where the real shame comes. Her experience underscores the urgent need for greater awareness about the lifelong health implications of pregnancy complications.
