As more women choose to have children in the later stages of lives, their risk of suffering from heart diseases increases significantly. Therefore, according to a few recent studies, pregnant women are now four times as likely to have a heart attack. Fortunately, suffering from a heart attack during pregnancy is still quite an uncommon occurrence. According to Uri Elkayam, Professor of Medicine and Obstetrics / Gynecology at the University of Southern California, heart attacks affect around 1 in every 16,000 deliveries and most of them occur in the last trimester of pregnancy, or immediately after childbirth.
Nevertheless, older women may not be as physically active as their younger counterparts during the course of pregnancy. Because of this, they are likely to have elevated cholesterol levels and this puts them at a higher risk of a heart attack while they are pregnant.
Under normal circumstances, the overall functioning of your heart improves during pregnancy. There is a rise in the pumping capacity of your heart, as it tries to meet the increasing demands of your body. If you are in perfect health, the risks of suffering a heart attack when you are pregnant are relatively low. However, if you do have a history of a weakened heart or other underlying cardiovascular problems, it is essential that you consult a doctor before planning your pregnancy.
During pregnancy there are several changes that take place in a woman’s body. The circulatory system is also affected. As the number of hormones produced in your body increases by a considerable amount, the volume of blood also goes up by around 40% or so. This means that your heart has a lot more work to do and it may not always have adequate reserves to meet this increase in burden. This may lead to a heart attack or other serious heart problems. There are several factors that could increase your risks of suffering from a heart attack during pregnancy. These include -
While it is normal for all pregnant women to get stressed, excessively high levels of stress and anxiety also increases the risk of heart attacks in pregnant women.
Many pregnant women do not even realize that they are suffering from a heart attack, because they do not recognize the symptoms. This could be because some of the symptoms of a heart attack are quite similar to the normal pregnancy discomforts that they are used to. These usually include shortness of breath, uneasiness and dizziness. However, the signs of a heart attack are a lot more serious and include -
It is best to seek emergency medical attention in case you experience two or more of these symptoms during pregnancy.
There is still a lot of controversy on the treatment of heart attacks in pregnant women. Some are of the opinion that pregnant women should be treated the same way as others, though the drugs used should pose minimal risks to the fetus. However, others believe that doctors should not follow the usual heart attack treatment guideline.
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