Pre-eclampsia is an early sign of heart disease

Pre-eclampsia, a condition where women develop high blood pressure and protein in their urine during pregnancy, is an early indicator of heart disease, say Canadian researchers.

Graeme Smith, a professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues studied 140 women, half of whom had developed pre-eclampsia during their pregnancy. Results obtained from screening the women a year after they had given birth showed that women who had developed pre-eclampsia were two to three times more likely to have elevated blood pressure and blood lipids – both of which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease – than women who did not develop pre-eclamsia.

"This should be on every obstetrician's and family doctor's radar screen," says Professor Smith in a news release issued by Queen's University. "What's exciting for our research team is that we're mostly dealing with young, healthy women who now have the opportunity to protect themselves from developing a life-threatening condition years down the road."

Smith GN, Walker MC, Liu A, et al. A history of preeclampsia identifies women who have underlying cardiovascular risk factors. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2008;In Press. Published online August 11th 2008.