Pregnant women who underwent in vitro fertilization (IVF) should consider meeting a doctor for a heart checkup. A new study warns that the fertility treatment could increase the risk of having a heart failure during and after pregnancy via IVF. The findings, presented at the recent Heart Failure 2019 scientific congress, highlight the pregnancy-associated, life-threatening heart failure, called peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). This medical problem affects one in 1,000 pregnant women worldwide and could also harm the baby. PPCM is sudden enlargement of the heart in late pregnancy or after delivery. Signs of the disease include shortness of breath, swollen legs and waking up in the night to urinate. "Our study shows that the risk of PPCM is five times higher in women who have fertility treatment so they should be aware that this discomfort may not be benign. PPCM is often diagnosed much too late, with direct consequences on prognosis," Tobias Pfeffer, study co-author and cardiologist at Hannover Medical School, said in a statement. The findings come from the analysis of health of 111 patients with PPCM along with their fertility and fertility treatments. Denise Hilfiker-Kleiner, study senior author and Hannover's dean of research in molecular cardiology, said all women who underwent IVF should get cardiac checks, including echocardiography after delivery or shortly before, to prevent PPCM. However, women who conceived through the fertility treatment are not the only ones at risk of having the heart disease. Hilfiker-Kleiner said those who had lost pregnancies can also induce PPCM. "Women who have developed signs of cardiac stress or impaired function should know that another cycle may increase their risk of becoming severely ill," the researcher said. The are factors that potentially contribute to the link between IVF and development of PPCM. Hilfiker-Kleiner said most women who commonly undergo artificial fertilization are older and prefer caesarean section for delivery. "As subsequent pregnancies after PPCM have a high risk for relapse, fertility treatment in PPCM patients bears a high risk for mother and foetus," she said. Manuel List, co-author and medical student at Hannover, said genetic alterations could also make women at risk of fertility issues and PPCM. Pregnancy is among the most sensitive stages of life among women and the scientific community continues to find health conditions and factors that may put both the mother and baby at risk. Source
