Objective:

To investigate the association between cardiovascular health during pregnancy, measured by a modified Life’s Essential 8 score, and the time to diagnosis of cardiometabolic conditions post-delivery.

Approach:

• Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study involving 1,225 singleton pregnancies with a median follow-up of 6.2 years.
• Population: Participants aged 18 to 44 years from a large academic medical system in South Carolina, with no preexisting diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
• Health Assessment: Cardiovascular health assessed using a 7-component modified Life’s Essential 8 framework, excluding cholesterol due to data availability.
• Outcome Measurement: Follow-up through electronic medical records to identify chronic hypertensive and metabolic conditions, and cardiovascular disease events.

Key Findings:

• Each 10-point higher mLE8 score was associated with a 26% longer time to diagnosis of chronic hypertensive conditions.
• Each 10-point higher mLE8 score was associated with a 20% longer time to diagnosis of chronic metabolic conditions.
• Healthier glucose, BMI, hypertension, and sleep scores correlated with longer time to diagnosis of chronic metabolic conditions.

Interpretation:

The findings indicate an association between better cardiovascular health during pregnancy and delayed diagnosis of cardiometabolic conditions.

Limitations:

• Observational design limits causality inference.
• Diagnosis dates may reflect clinical recognition rather than biological onset.
• Self-reported measures for lifestyle components may introduce bias.
• Small number of CVD events limits interpretation of long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
• Findings may not be generalizable to diverse populations.

Conclusion:

The study highlights the relevance of pregnancy-based cardiovascular health assessments for postpartum care.

Sources:

• JAMA Network Open