Effect of race on longitudinal central hemodynamics in pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE

To compare central hemodynamics between white, black and Asian women in pregnancy.

METHODS

This was a prospective, longitudinal study of maternal central hemodynamics in white, black and Asian women with a singleton pregnancy, assessed using a bioreactance method at 11 + 0 to 13 + 6, 19 + 0 to 24 + 0, 30 + 0 to 34 + 0 and 35 + 0 to 37 + 0 weeks' gestation. At each visit, cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), heart rate (HR), peripheral vascular resistance (PVR) and mean arterial pressure were recorded. Multilevel linear mixed-effects analysis was performed to compare the repeated measures of the cardiac variables between white, black and Asian women, controlling for maternal characteristics, medical history and medication use.

RESULTS

The study population included 1165 white, 247 black and 116 Asian women. CO increased with gestational age to a peak at 32 weeks and then decreased; the highest CO was observed in white women and the lowest in Asian women. SV initially increased after the first visit but subsequently declined with gestational age in white women, decreased with gestational age in black women and remained static in Asian women. In all three study groups, HR increased with gestational age until 32 weeks and then remained constant; HR was highest in black women and lowest in white women. PVR showed a reversed pattern to that of CO; the highest values were in Asian women and the lowest in white women. The least favorable hemodynamic profile, which was observed in black and Asian women, was reflected in higher rates of a small-for-gestational-age infant.

CONCLUSIONS

There are race-specific differences in maternal cardiac adaptation to pregnancy. White women have the most favorable cardiac adaptation by increasing SV and HR, achieving the highest CO and lowest PVR. In contrast, black and Asian women have lower CO and higher PVR than do white women, with CO increasing through a rise in HR due to declining or static SV. Copyright © 2019 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.