Researchers push for better identification of at-risk women and coordinated care before, during, and after pregnancy, proposing an integrated model that brings primary care and cardiology into high-risk maternal care.

The study emphasizes integrating primary care and cardiology with OB-GYN services to provide comprehensive, cross-disciplinary care across the perinatal period.

HDP patients cluster traditional cardiovascular risk factors, underscoring the need for holistic management addressing metabolic, behavioral, and social determinants of health.

About 19.7% of patients had an HDP diagnosis, with higher prevalence among first births, and those with HDP carried more cardiovascular risk factors like obesity, smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia, depression, and lower socioeconomic status.

The HDP diagnosis during pregnancy marks a common sentinel event for lifelong cardiovascular vulnerability and an opportunity for early intervention in subsequent pregnancies.

A new Intermountain Health study shows hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) significantly increase women’s risk of cardiovascular events within five years after delivery, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and death.

Findings were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025 in New Orleans on Sunday, November 9.

Lead investigator Kismet Rasmusson notes that hypertension in pregnancy, including chronic hypertension, markedly raises long-term cardiovascular risk, especially in severe cases.

The findings advocate for postnatal risk assessment models that incorporate HDP phenotype and severity to guide surveillance and prevention, and they point to gaps in awareness and routine monitoring among patients and providers.

The article highlights a lack of awareness among many pregnant women about these long-term risks and calls for early intervention and collaborative care to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality related to HDP.

Intermountain Health is building an integrated, multidisciplinary framework—linking primary care, cardiology, and mental health—to provide care from preconception counseling and pregnancy blood pressure management to ongoing cardiovascular surveillance after delivery.