Tips To Prevent Complications In Pregnant Women Who've Heart Conditions

Pregnant women who've heart conditions would require special care during the trimesters. Though pregnancy stresses your ticker, still many women who've heart conditions deliver healthy babies. Your blood volume increases by 30-50 percent while you are pregnant in order to nourish your fetus, your ticker pumps more blood each minute and your heart rate increases. Labor and delivery just adds to the workload of your ticker, and it takes a few weeks after delivery for the stresses on the ticker to come back to the levels they were before you conceived.

Some heart conditions, such as narrowing of the mitral valve or aortic valve- can cause more complications than others do. Some heart conditions require major treatments like heart surgery before you try to conceive. Some women may have the rare congenital condition Eisenmenger's syndrome or high blood pressure (HBP) that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the ticker, doctors recommend against pregnancy under these circumstances.

Heart Conditions:

Valve Issues- Your risk of complications during pregnancy is higher if you have an artificial heart valve or scarring or abnormality of your ticker or valves. The increased blood flow that occurs during pregnancy might be difficult for someone to tolerate whose valves aren't working properly.

Issues Related To Heart Rhythm- During pregnancy, minor abnormalities in heart rhythm are quite normal. You'll likely be given medication if you need treatment for an abnormal rhythm.

Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)- CHF can worsen with increase in the volume of blood.

Congenital Heart Defect (CHD)- Your baby has a greater risk of developing some type of heart defect if you were born with a heart problem or have a family history of the same.

Medications During Pregnancy:

Very often the benefits of medications outweigh the risks, but medications you take during pregnancy can have an affect on your baby. Better you consult with your healthcare provider who'll prescribe the safest medication at the most appropriate dose if you somehow need it to control your heart condition.

The best way to ensure that your baby is growing fine is through regular visits to your doctor who'll monitor the development of the fetus through routine ultrasound exams and specialized ultrasounds (which can be used to discern fetal heart abnormalities).

Tips to prevent complications:

The best way to take care of your baby is by taking good care of yourself.

1.      Take your medicines as prescribed and do not stop taking the medication or adjust the dose without the doctor's consent.

2.      You should visit your doctor regularly throughout your pregnancy.

3.      Avoid strenuous physical activities and take plenty of rest.

4.      Smoking, alcohol, caffeine are a big NO.

5.      Watch out your weight since gaining the right amount of weight supports your baby's growth and development, but gaining weight in excess can put additional stress on your ticker.

Immediately consult your doctor if you have any signs or symptoms that are a cause for concern, such as difficulty breathing, shortness of breath with exertion or at rest, chest pain, heart palpitations or irregular pulse.

The best way to handle out-of-hospital cardiac emergencies is by getting CPR trained at an accredited training site. Call on 901-438-4200 to sign up for a CPR course at CPR Memphis.