Long-term outcomes in women diagnosed with heart failure in connection to delivery

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) among young patients may be from various causes, often triggered by heightened physical demands like pregnancy. Data regarding outcomes of women diagnosed with HF in conjunction to pregnancy and delivery are varied. There remains a notable gap in understanding the outcomes observed in women diagnosed with heart failure in conjunction with delivery. Also, long-term follow-up studies are crucial to elucidate the impact of pregnancy-associated HF on future cardiovascular. Purpose To study the interplay between pregnancy, HF, and subsequent cardiovascular risk. Method Using the personal identification numbers (PINs) that all individuals in Sweden have enables linkage of data between different registers. Data from the National Patient Register (NPR), Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR) and the Cause of Death Register were also used. All women 18 to 50 years of age registered in the in MBR in the period 1st January 1997 to 31st December 2019 were included. Women with first-time HF in relation to delivery were identified using the international classification code for diseases (ICD-10) I50, I42, I43 and 090.3 together with co-morbidities. Every patient was compared with 5 controls without HF from the Total Population Register matched on age at delivery and calendar year of delivery. Outcomes: all-cause mortality, and any cardiovascular disease (CVD) diagnosed during the observation time. Results A total of 286 cases and 1,430 controls were included. The prevalence of comorbidities at baseline for both patients and controls was low; congenital heart disease (1.4%, vs. 0%), pulmonary hypertension (1.0% vs. 0%), valvular heart disease (5.9% vs. 0%), myocardial infarction 0.7% vs. 0%), arrhythmia (5.9% vs. 0%), hypertension (6.3 % vs. 0.1%), (all p