Relation of the Number of Parity to Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Pregnancy

Abstract Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) has been relatively less studied than other cardiac changes during pregnancy. Previous studies revealed a mild diastolic deterioration during pregnancy. However these studies did not evaluate the long-term effect of parity on left ventricular diastolic function. A comprehensive study evaluating the long-term effect of parity on diastolic function is required. A total of 710 women with various number of parity were evaluated via echocardiography to reveal the status of diastolic function. Echocardiographic parameters were compared among the women by parity number and categorized accordingly; none, 0< to 4 and 4 < parity (grand multiparous). In nulliparous group, 19 women (23.2 %) had grade 1 LVDD and only 2 women (2.4 %) had grade 2 LVDD. In women with a parity number of 0 < to 4, 209 women (38.3%) had grade 1 LVDD and only 17 women (3.1%) had grade 2 LVDD. In grand multiparous group, only 2 (2.4%) women did not have LVDD and 12 women (14.6 %) had grade 2 LVDD. None of the subjects had grade III or grade IV LVDD. According to hierarchical logistic regression analysis, any grade of LVDD and grade 2 LVDD had the highest rates at parity category of > 4 parity and that had 21 and 5.8-times higher than nulliparous group respectively. In conclusion, according to the current study, grand multiparity but not multiparity, severely deteriorates left ventricular diastolic function. Further studies are warranted to evaluate the risk of gradual diastolic dysfunction after each pregnancy.