Maternal and Fetal Outcome of Cardiac Disease in Pregnancy: A Retrospective Study at Tertiary Institute

Abstract

Introduction: Cardiac disease in pregnancy is still a major cause of maternal and fetal mortality. Although the reported incidence varies between 0.1 and 4%, 1–3 cardiac disease remains a significant cause of maternal death worldwide. The incidence of cardiac disease during pregnancy has remained stable for many years even with a significant decrease in the occurrence of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) as this decrease is being compensated by significant increase of pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease (CHD). Therefore, in this study, we aim to analyze the incidence of cardiac disease in pregnancy and to assess the maternal and fetal outcome.
Materials and Methods: The retrospective study was carried out in 47 women with cardiac disease in a tertiary institute over a period of 2 years.
Results: In the present study, incidence of cardiac disease at our centre was 0.081%. RHD was the most common heart disease in pregnancy (70.21%) followed by CHD (23.40%) and peripartum cardiomyopathy (6.38%). Among RHD, mitral valve stenosis was most common followed by mitral stenosis with mitral regurgitation. Number of vaginal deliveries was 36 and cesarean was done in 11 patients.
Conclusions: A cardiac disease is a high-risk pregnancy. It is a multidisciplinary teamwork to have optimal maternal and fetal outcome. Hence, constant vigilance is required throughout antenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum period to avoid adverse outcomes.