Study: Increased Risk of Stroke During Pregnancy in Patients Under Pressure

The American Heart Association has warned of the risk of stroke causing cerebral hemorrhage in women during pregnancy and after the birth of some women with hypertension or heart disease. And in the weeks following childbirth.

The American Heart Association showed that women were at increased risk of stroke during pregnancy and postnatal periods.

The study, presented this week at the stroke conference of the American Stroke Association, found that pregnant or postnatal women were at a 3-fold higher risk of hemorrhagic stroke. than other women.

"This study revealed significant intracranial hemorrhage during pregnancy and the 6-week postnatal period, but most of them were limited to a smaller sample," said Jennifer Mix of the McGovern School of Medicine Center. Health Sciences from the University of Texas at Houston and lead author of the study. And from other factors, Ms. Mix and her colleagues looked at the data of millions of women and used a new approach in which women were their own control group.

"The cerebral hemorrhage is a devastating and debilitating disease," said Dr. Christopher Kellner, director of the New York City brain bleeding program, which was not part of the new study..

The report, published by the American Heart Association, indicates that the incidence of bleeding in the brain has multiple causes: high blood pressure, heart disease and arduous work during pregnancy can put them at risk..

Researchers looked at patient databases in New York, Florida, and California and looked for women who gave birth between 2005 and 2014. Of the 3.3 million births identified, researchers looked for signs of death. 39, cerebral hemorrhage during pregnancy and the postpartum period of 24 weeks, 238 cases of bleeding in the brain during this period.

The risk of stroke was higher during pregnancy and the first 12 weeks postpartum, and stroke survivors were likely to have a history of pre-eclampsia, diabetes and coagulation. Black and Asian women were more likely to develop the disease than white women, What mixture said was consistent with what was documented in the general population.

"It certainly is an excellent data study that gives us a more accurate idea of ​​the size of the population," Kellner said. "These numbers are important for education, counseling and perhaps more support for the most exposed women.

Mix and Kellner said more research is needed to develop better preventative and clinical guidelines.

The American Heart Association noted that with few treatments available for patients with cerebral hemorrhage, Kellner said that there remained a big question: how should doctors treat these patients, that they are pregnant or postpartum.