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Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Preterm preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication associated with myocardial dysfunction and premature cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Left atrial (LA) strain is a noninvasive index of left ventricular end diastolic pressure and an early marker of heart failure risk. This study aimed to evaluate LA strain during the postpartum period in participants with and without preterm preeclampsia and to assess whether this varied in the presence of hypertension, cardiac dysfunction or both.

METHODS:

In this longitudinal cohort study, 321 women from 28 hospitals with preterm preeclampsia (cases) underwent cardiovascular assessment 6 months postpartum. This is a secondary analysis of the PHOEBE study (ISRCTN01879376). An uncomplicated pregnancy control group (n=30) was recruited from a single center for comparison. A full cross-sectional transthoracic echocardiogram was performed, and from these images, the myocardial strain of the left atrium, including reservoir, conduit, and contractile strain, as well as LA stiffness, were calculated.

RESULTS:

At 6 months postpartum, compared with controls, prior preeclampsia was associated with a significantly attenuated LA reservoir, conduit, and contractile strain, as well as increased LA stiffness (all P<0.001). LA strain was further reduced in preeclamptic women who had and had not developed hypertension, systolic, or diastolic dysfunction at 6 months postpartum (all P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

LA mechanics were significantly attenuated at 6 months postpartum in participants with preterm preeclampsia, whether or not they remained hypertensive or had evidence of ventricular dysfunction. Further studies are needed to determine whether postnatal LA strain may identify women at greater risk for future cardiovascular disease.

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Hypertension
Pages: 1644 - 1654
PubMed: 38757271

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History

Received: 12 December 2023
Accepted: 5 May 2024
Published online: 17 May 2024
Published in print: July 2024

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Keywords

  1. cardiovascular diseases
  2. hypertension
  3. heart disease risk factors
  4. morbidity
  5. pre-eclampsia

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Affiliations

School of Psychology and Life Science, Canterbury Christ Church University, Kent, United Kingdom (J.M.O.D.).
Department of Cardiology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom (J.M.O.D.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The INFANT Research Centre, University College Cork, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Ireland (F.P.M.C.).
Fetal Medicine Unit, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Molecular & Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom (V.G., B.T.).
Navazh Jalaludeen
Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom (N.J.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Mike Marber
Cardiovascular Division, King’s College London British Heart Foundation Centre of Excellence, The Rayne Institute, St. Thomas’ Hospital Campus, United Kingdom (M.M.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Department of Women and Children’s Health, King’s College London, United Kingdom (F.P.M.C., P.T.S., C.G., J.S., L.P., A.H.S., L.C.C.).
Fetal Medicine Unit, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Molecular & Clinical Sciences Research Institute, St George’s University of London, United Kingdom (V.G., B.T.).
Oxford Cardiovascular Clinical Research Facility, Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, United Kingdom (P.L.).

Notes

For Sources of Funding and Disclosures, see page 1652.
*
L.C. Chappell, B. Thilaganathan, and P. Leeson are joint last authors.
Supplemental Material is available at Supplemental Material.
Correspondence to: Jamie M. O’Driscoll, School of Psychology and Life Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, N Holmes Rd, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1 QU, United Kingdom. Email [email protected]

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Left Atrial Mechanics Following Preeclamptic Pregnancy
Hypertension
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