Association of Maternal Cardiac Disease and Echocardiographic Parameters With Neonatal Outcomes

Women with cardiac disease have worse neonatal outcomes compared to women without cardiac disease; risk factors are not well-defined. We hypothesized that structural heart disease, as assessed by echocardiography, is a noninvasive metric for abnormal hemodynamics and an unfavorable maternal-fetal environment. We assessed the association between echocardiographic markers of structural heart disease in women with cardiac disease and a primary endpoint of adverse neonatal outcomes operationalized as neonates with small-for-gestational-age birth weight, preterm delivery, neonatal intensive care unit/transition care unit admission, or neonatal/fatal demise. Women with cardiac disease who delivered at a tertiary care center between 2014 and 2022 were included. Echocardiographic parameters and neonatal outcomes were collected. A subgroup analysis was performed among women with congenital heart disease (CHD). Among 1,108 women, maternal diagnoses of pulmonary hypertension (OR 5.7, 95% CI 1.8-18.6), hypertensive disease (OR 3.8, 95% CI 2.4-6.2), CHD (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.3-3.8), and cardiomyopathy (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1-3.8) were associated with the primary endpoint. Peak tricuspid regurgitation velocity was associated with the primary endpoint (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3.1). Biventricular function and severity of valvular disease were not associated with the primary endpoint in the total study population and in the CHD subgroup. In conclusion, maternal cardiac diagnosis is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Structural heart disease as assessed by echocardiography was not predictive of adverse neonatal outcomes. Large-scale studies are needed to identify drivers of adverse neonatal outcomes in women with cardiac disease.