Anesthetic Considerations for Delivery of Patients with Cardiovascular Disease
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2026

Delivery of Cardioactive Therapeutics in a Porcine Myocardial Infarction Model
Published on: February 10, 2023
A Taylor Thomas1, Emily E Naoum1
1Department of Anesthesiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, GRB 444, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
Abstract:
Pregnant patients with cardiovascular disease benefit from early evaluation by a pregnancy heart team and formal risk stratification to guide delivery planning and determine the need for care at a tertiary center. Carefully titrated neuraxial anesthesia is preferred to reduce maternal catecholamines, decrease cardiac workload, and enable controlled hemodynamic management. From a cardiovascular standpoint, vaginal delivery is generally favored over cesarean delivery due to its more gradual hemodynamic changes and lower physiologic stress. Intrapartum management should be guided by lesion-specific physiology, with contingencies in place for obstetric and cardiac emergencies.
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