Preeclampsia and cardiovascular risk: the importance of looking beyond pregnancy
Preeclampsia is not just a pregnancy complication. It can also be an early sign of future cardiovascular risk.
Nieves Montoro López – Cardiologist and Medical Director of Clínica SAMON (Madrid)
Traditionally, preeclampsia has been considered a problem limited to pregnancy, characterized by high blood pressure and alterations in various organs starting around the 20th week of gestation. However, in recent years, scientific evidence has shown something important: women who have had preeclampsia have a higher long-term cardiovascular risk.
Compared to women with no history of preeclampsia, this history has been associated with:
- Up to 4 times greater risk of heart failure .
- Approximately double the risk of heart attack and stroke .
- A significantly higher risk of developing
- chronic high blood pressure in the years following pregnancy.
| Future cardiovascular event | Increased risk after preeclampsia |
|---|---|
| Chronic high blood pressure | ~3–4 times greater |
| Heart failure | ~4 times greater |
| Ischemic heart disease / heart attack | ~2 times greater |
| Ictus | ~2 times greater |
| Cardiovascular mortality | ~2 times greater |
| Global cardiovascular risk | ~2 times greater |
Source: meta-analysis by Wu et al. (2017) and Bellamy et al. (2007).
Why does this happen?
Pregnancy acts as a kind of “stress test” for the cardiovascular system. In some women, the onset of preeclampsia can reveal increased vascular susceptibility or an underlying cardiovascular predisposition that may have remained silent for years .
This does not mean that all women who have had preeclampsia will develop cardiovascular disease. But it does remind us of the importance of follow-up , risk factor management, and cardiovascular prevention after pregnancy.
We are increasingly understanding that a woman’s cardiovascular health begins long before menopause, and that obstetric history can provide very valuable information about future cardiovascular risk.
On World Preeclampsia Day , which is commemorated every May 22 , raising awareness also means looking beyond pregnancy.
