Heart Defective Newborns Impact Mommy’s Heart Health Too!

Moms of Babies with Heart Defects Should be Extra Careful with their Heart Health

​Mommies and daddies passing hereditary diseases and characteristics are old-fashioned. Babies with heart defect indicating the mommy that she might be affected by cardiovascular disease later in life is the latest fashion and the serious result of a new study. Worldwide, congenital heart affects almost eight in every 1,000 newborns making it one of the most common birth defects in infants.

The research team followed over 1 million moms who delivered infants between 1989 and 2013. Moms were classified according to the infant’s severity of heart defect-critical, noncritical or no heart defect-and followed up for 25 years post-delivery for CVDs such as heart failure, heart attack, atherosclerosis disorders and heart transplants. This study is unique as it correlates heart defects in babies to heart disease in mothers who were devoid of any heart problems initially. When compared to mother of infants without congenital heart disease, researchers found:

• Moms of infants with critical heart defects were at a 43% higher risk of being hospitalized for cardiovascular disease and twice as likely to have a heart attack, thrice as likely to suffer from other diseases due to thickening of the arteries and more than 40 times as likely to require a heart transplant
• Moms of infants with noncritical heart defects were at a 24% higher risk of being hospitalized for some cardiovascular problem and experienced double the risk of heart failure, pulmonary blood vessel disease and pacemaker insertion compared to moms of babies without any heart defects
  
  

Heart disease should never be sidelined as a male-specific problem as there are an increasing number of females who are affected by heart disease and die due to heart failure every year. In India, more than a lakh babies are born with congenital heart defects annually. Babies with heart defect is a sign of future health as we now know that our own heart health is at stake in near future. Hence, women with such babies are advised to lead a healthy lifestyle by cutting down alcohol consumption, smoking, having a healthy body weight and doing regular physical activity. Women needing help to adapt to a healthier lifestyle should get in touch with registered dietitian nutritionists at www.firsteatright.com.

While researchers are not exactly sure about the factors that cause this possible link, they feel that obesity, diabetes and preeclampsia are related to CHD and heart disease along with other factors such as genetics, stress and financial/emotional disturbance experienced by the mom when the baby is diagnosed with heart defect in the family.
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Also, obstetricians who treat children for their heart defects can warn the mothers of such children to be double precautious and minimize their risk factors. This helps reassure a mom that taking care of herself is not a sin and does not convey the message anytime that she is neglecting the health of the baby prioritizing her health.