Ideal cardiovascular health status and preeclampsia: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES

to evaluate the association between preeclampsia and the cardiovascular health status of pregnant women.

METHODS

we conducted a cohort study with 101 pregnant women, following ethical principles and approved by a research ethics committee. We assessed the ideal cardiovascular health using three behaviors (smoking abstinence, body mass index, and physical activity) and three factors (cholesterol, blood pressure, and absence of diabetes and cardiovascular disease). The outcome measured was preeclampsia.

RESULTS

preeclampsia developed in 24.75% of participants, while 9.90% had ideal cardiovascular health. We identified an association between body mass index (p < 0.01) and blood pressure (p < 0.01) with preeclampsia. However, we found no significant association between preeclampsia and overall ideal cardiovascular health status (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

this study highlights the importance of promoting lifestyle changes in this population.