Laura Leigh Davidson had a Caesarean section several weeks before her baby was due. Her blood pressure spiked so high, that doctors were concerned for her health and the health of her baby, 10TV’s Andrea Cambern reported on Monday.
Researchers in Great Britain followed 3,400 women for almost 20 years to see what effects problems during pregnancy had on their hearts.
Researchers said that women like Laura could have cause to worry down the road, Cambern reported.
Researchers found that pregnant women with high blood pressure have a 31 percent greater risk of developing heart disease in middle age. Those with gestational diabetes face an 18 percent greater risk.
Cardiologist Laxmi Mehta of the Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University said that she recommended daily exercise and a heart healthy diet to all her patients.
"Potentially, if you follow a heart healthy diet and exercise, you really could reduce your risks of developing cardiovascular disease, Mehta said. “And if you're unfortunate to have it, maybe you'll push it back to a later stage in your life. Or even if you develop a heart attack, you'll recover faster.”
Mehta said that unless Americans alter their lifestyles, people could see more heart problems in the future.
"We are failing as a society in terms of our dietary habits. About 70 percent of Americans follow a poor diet, and when we look at kids, more than 90 percent of the kids are following a poor diet. And that alone will lead to obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol," Mehta said.
Now that Davidson has a son, she said that she planned to change her habits.
"It just makes me think very carefully about the decisions I have to make for my own health, so that I can be around for him,” Davidson said.
Jacques Moritz of Roosevelt Hospital in New York offered this warning.
"View what happened in pregnancy as a kind of dipstick,” Moritz said. “You know that you're at a higher risk and you may be able to prevent it.”
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.
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