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Published on: May 5, 2018

Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Prevalent Cardiovascular Disease Among an Urban Cohort in Haiti

Wheytnie Alexandre1, Anju Ogyu2, Rodney Sufra3

  • 1Department of Medicine, Center for Global Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, New York, USA.

JACC. Advances
|May 14, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) and grand multiparity are linked to higher cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, particularly heart failure, in women in Haiti. This highlights the need for CVD screening in women with a history of APO.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Global Health

Background:

  • Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) are associated with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in high-income nations.
  • Limited evidence exists on this link in low-income countries, such as Haiti.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the cross-sectional association between APO and prevalent CVD in Haitian women.
  • To examine the role of reproductive history, including grand multiparity, in CVD risk.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 1,146 women from the Haiti CVD Cohort, including detailed pregnancy history.
  • Poisson regression models were used to assess the relationship between APO and prevalent CVD (heart failure, myocardial infarction, stroke), adjusted for traditional risk factors.

Main Results:

  • 61.7% of women reported at least one APO.
  • APOs were significantly associated with heart failure (adjusted PR: 1.44; 95% CI: 1.04-1.99).
  • Grand multiparity (≥5 births) was linked to increased CVD (PR: 1.54) and heart failure (PR: 1.62) risk.

Conclusions:

  • CVD, primarily heart failure, is more prevalent in Haitian women with a history of APO or grand multiparity.
  • These findings underscore the importance of considering reproductive history in CVD risk assessment for women in low-income settings.
  • The study highlights a need for targeted CVD prevention and screening strategies in this population.
Abstract

Keywords:
adverse pregnancy outcomescardiovascular diseasesheart failurelow-income countries

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