How pregnant women with heart issues in Kansas City can help moms everywhere | Opinion
The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of all developed countries, and it is the only one with a rising maternal mortality rate. While only 4% of pregnant women have heart disease, cardiovascular conditions account for more than a third of pregnancy-related deaths.
Despite the high risks for expectant moms with heart issues in the U.S., we practice in a data-sparse environment given the absence of any systematic studies focused on this population. Moreover, hypertension during pregnancy not only increases the risks of pregnancy complications, but also increases the risks of long-term cardiovascular disease with well-documented gaps in prevention and treatment.
Kansas City is poised to become a national leader in addressing the nation’s maternal health crisis, and there’s a way for you to help or to be treated if you’re pregnant and have a heart condition.
Here’s a bit of background: The National Institutes of Health awarded the UMKC Healthcare Institute for Innovations in Quality an $8.3 million grant to work with 36 cardio-obstetric practices throughout the nation. This research network, based at UMKC School of Medicine’s clinical partner, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, is enrolling 1,000 pregnant women with heart disease to study their care and outcomes carefully, including their health and quality of life over the year after delivery. This work will provide great insights into how best to organize and deliver care for the highest-risk pregnancies, and will lay the foundation for developing new protocols to improve care throughout the country.
The study is fittingly called Heart Outcomes in Pregnancy Expectations, or HOPE for Mom and Baby Study. Research contributions from the Saint Luke’s Muriel I. Kauffman Women’s Heart Center and the Saint Luke’s Muriel I. Kauffman Institute for Women’s Cardiovascular Research — the first research institute in the country to specialize only in women’s heart health — were enabled by a philanthropically-supported pilot study to support this larger HOPE Study.
If you’re pregnant and have a heart condition, please consider participating in the HOPE Study for care and treatment at saintlukeskc.org/hope-study Or maybe you know someone who is — please encourage her to participate.
Not only are Kansas City researchers seeking to address key evidence gaps in knowledge; they are also engaged in immediately improving the quality of care in our region. In collaboration with Missouri and Kansas hospital associations and numerous local partners, the UMKC Healthcare Institute is spearheading a regional effort to address hypertension during pregnancy. The effort focuses on implementing early screening and treatment for high-risk patients, promptly identifying and managing hypertension, and establishing transitions to primary care for continued treatment and cardiovascular monitoring. These initiatives present a significant opportunity to enhance maternal health outcomes today and in the future.
This year, Carnegie designated UMKC a Research 1 university, meaning it is in the top tier of research institutions in the country. It is the first and only R1 university in Kansas City, and has the experience to lead additional national studies like this one.
The rate of deaths and complications surrounding pregnancy are too high in our country. However, our community and state leaders should be proud of ongoing efforts to address this crisis. By leading national initiatives to support better care for pregnant women with heart disease and developing novel strategies to implement best practices for pregnant women with hypertension, we are making meaningful strides toward addressing the maternal health crisis in the United States.