UMEM Educational Pearls

Myocardial Infarction in Women After Childbirth

World Health Organization reports that obesity is the 5th leading cause of global death with the highest impact on women <65 years of age

The association of obesity and cardiovascular risk in young women is currently being researched

A recent nationwide cohort looking at obesity and future cardiovascular risk looked at Danish women giving birth (2004-2009) and followed them a median time of 4.5 years

This study grouped women via pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI)

                                            1. Underweight (BMI <18.5)     

                                            2. Normal weight (BMI <25)

                                3. Overweight (BMI <30)

                                4. Obese (BMI >30)

Data revealed that healthy women of fertile age, pre-pregnancy obesity alone was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction in the years after childbirth

References

Schmiegelow M, Andersson C, Kober L, et al. Prepregnancy Obesity and Associations With Stroke and Myocardial Infarction in Women in the Years After Childbirth. Circulation 2014;129:330-337.