Among heart valve disease, mitral stenosis (MS) is the most common manifestation of rheumatic heart disease found in pregnant women. It is one of the most common causes of maternal death from cardiac causes worldwide. Whether or not to get pregnant safely in women diagnosed with heart valve disease, it entirely depends on the disease severity and individual conditions of each patient.
Severity level of heart valve disease in pregnant women?
Primarily based on presenting signs and symptoms, severity can be mainly classified into 4 classes:
Non-pregnant patients with heart valve disease
Before considering being pregnant in patients diagnosed with heart valve disease, valve replacement is highly recommended. A minimally invasive valve replacement is a surgery to replace a poorly working valve with an artificial valve. Based on artificial heart valves, there are 2 major types:
Pregnant patients with heart valve disease
During pregnancy, if patients have developed heart valve disease, a close monitoring from cardiac specialists and obstetricians is highly needed. If patients have experienced moderate to severe symptoms, treatment plan is primarily determined by gestational age. In early pregnancy (during the first 2-3 months), an early abortion is mainly considered.However, if the gestation age is over 5 months, certain medications will be prescribed to attenuate the severity degree until baby reaches 36 weeks. Then cesarean delivery will be performed to save both baby’s and mother’s lives. More importantly, potential risks during pregnancy might include greater chances of miscarriage or intra-uterine fetal death. In addition, prescribed medications might produce adverse reactions to the babies, affect the fetal growth and development. The major determinant is the severity of symptoms that affect mother’s health. The ultimate goal is to rescue both lives safely.
Pregnancy after valve replacement
In case that patients have valve replacement with biological valve, no blood thinner drug is required and patients can continue living without special cautions. But if it is mechanical valve, oral blood thinning drugs should be switched to injection form which might impair the fetal growth and development. After valve replacement and patients do not notice that they are pregnant especially during the first trimester, oral blood thinners might affect the fetus, leading to birth defects or developmental disability.
Taking good care of mother’s health
Health check-up before pregnancy remains essentially vital. It greatly helps to identify possible risks and early detect abnormalities prior to be pregnant. Treatment plan can be given appropriately, resulting in healthy life of both mother and babies.