Severity of obstructive coronary artery stenosis after pre-eclampsia

Women with a history of pre-eclampsia are at higher risk of premature coronary artery disease. Assessment of obstructive coronary artery stenosis by invasive coronary angiography has not been evaluated after pre-eclampsia.

A population-based cohort study was completed in Ontario, Canada, where there is universal healthcare and collection of angiographic data. Included were women with a live birth or stillbirth from 2002 to 2020, and without known heart disease. One birth was randomly selected per woman. The main exposure compared women with versus without pre-eclampsia. The primary outcome was angiographically established obstructive coronary artery stenosis, assessed starting 42 days after the index birth. Cause-specific hazard models accounting for competing risks generated HRs, adjusted for age, parity, income, rurality, diabetes, chronic hypertension, renal disease, substance use and dyslipidaemia.

Among 42 252 women ever with pre-eclampsia and 1359 122 never with pre-eclampsia, mean age was 31.1 years and 30.6 years, respectively. After 9 years of follow-up, obstructive coronary artery stenosis occurred in 186 women with pre-eclampsia (4.53 per 10 000 person-years) versus 1237 women without pre-eclampsia (0.97 per 10 000 person-years)-an unadjusted HR 4.41 (95% CI 3.78 to 5.14) and adjusted HR 2.07 (95% CI 1.77 to 2.43). Relative to those with neither, the adjusted HR for coronary stenosis was highest in women with pre-eclampsia and preterm birth (3.11, 95% CI 2.51 to 3.87), or pre-eclampsia and stillbirth (2.80, 95% CI 1.05 to 7.47).

Pre-eclampsia is associated with a greater risk of premature-onset obstructive coronary artery stenosis, especially when it is complicated by a preterm birth or a stillbirth.