Universal Cardiovascular Disease Risk Assessment in Pregnancy: Call to Action JACC: Advances Expert Panel

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Maternal Health
• Public Health

Background:

• The US faces high maternal mortality, with cardiovascular disease (CVD) as a leading cause.
• Diagnosing CVD in pregnancy is difficult due to overlapping symptoms with normal pregnancy.
• Delayed CVD diagnosis in pregnant individuals leads to missed intervention opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To advocate for universal cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment in pregnant and postpartum patients.
• To highlight the importance of early CVD diagnosis for improving maternal outcomes.
• To promote the integration of validated CVD risk assessment tools into routine obstetric care.

Main Methods:

• Implementing universal CVD risk assessment across clinical settings for pregnant and postpartum patients.
• Integrating validated risk assessment tools into routine obstetric care.
• Enhancing clinician awareness of cardiovascular risk through education and screening.

Main Results:

• Potential for enhanced awareness of cardiovascular risk among healthcare providers.
• Facilitation of earlier CVD diagnosis in pregnant and postpartum individuals.
• Opportunity for timely intervention to improve maternal health outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Universal CVD risk assessment is a pivotal strategy to address maternal mortality.
• Integrating risk assessment tools can improve early CVD detection and intervention.
• This approach can advance maternal healthcare equity and reduce CVD-related deaths.