Reproductive Experiences and Cardiovascular Disease Care in Pregnancy-Capable and Postmenopausal Individuals: Insights From the American Heart Association Research Goes Red Registry

Abstract

To evaluate preconception health and adverse pregnancy outcome (APO) awareness in a large population-based registry. We examined data from the Fertility and Pregnancy Survey of the American Heart Association Research Goes Red Registry to questions regarding prenatal health care experiences, postpartum health, and awareness of the association of APOs with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Among postmenopausal individuals, 37% were unaware that APOs were associated with long-term CVD risk, significantly varying by race-ethnicity. Fifty-nine percent of participants were not educated regarding this association by their providers, and 37% reported providers not assessing pregnancy history during current visits, significantly varying by race-ethnicity, income, and access to care. Only 37.1% of respondents were aware that CVD was the leading cause of maternal mortality. There is an urgent, ongoing need for more education on APOs and CVD risk, to improve the health-care experiences and postpartum health outcomes of pregnant individuals.