State-of-the-Art Paper
Pre-Eclampsia and Future Cardiovascular Risk Among Women: A Review

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Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the western world. Due to advancements in diagnosis, prevention, and treatment, cardiovascular mortality has fallen in recent years. Previous studies have evaluated the impact of traditional risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia and smoking. However, limited studies have been conducted to evaluate sex discrepancies among patients with cardiovascular disease. Pre-eclampsia is a multisystem placentally mediated disease, which usually arises after 32 weeks of gestation and classically presents with hypertension and proteinuria. Pre-eclampsia affects 2% to 8% of all pregnancies worldwide and is often complicated by fetal growth restriction. Women with a history of pre-eclampsia are at increased risk of future cardiovascular complications. Therefore, this topic is of significance to the cardiovascular health of over 300 million women worldwide. The goal of this review is to determine the association of pre-eclampsia and future cardiovascular risk and to explore the potential management options for these high-risk women.

Key Words

acute coronary syndrome
angina
coronary artery disease
endothelium
hypertension
myocardial infarction
pre-eclampsia
vascular function

Abbreviations and Acronyms

CAD
coronary artery disease
CI
confidence interval
CVD
cardiovascular disease
HR
hazard ratio
IHD
ischemic heart disease
LDL
low-density lipoprotein
MI
myocardial infarction
OR
odds ratio
PWV
pulse wave velocity
RR
relative risk

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Dr. Mehran has received institutional research grant support from The Medicines Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi-Avents, Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo, Regado Biosciences, and STENTYS; consulting fees from Abbott Vascular, AstraZeneca, Boston Scientific, Covidien, CSL Behring Janssen (JNJ), Maya Medical, and Merck; and is an advisory board member of Covidiem, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Sanofi-Aventis. All other authors have reported that they have no relationships relevant to the contents of this paper to disclose.