Preeclampsia and Cardiovascular Risk for Offspring

• Main Authors: Wiktor Wojczakowski, Żaneta Kimber-Trojnar, Filip Dziwisz, Magdalena Słodzińska, Hubert Słodziński, Bożena Leszczyńska-Gorzelak
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-07-01
• Series: Journal of Clinical Medicine
• Subjects: preeclampsia; gestational hypertension; cardiovascular risk; offspring; fetal programming
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/10/14/3154

There is growing evidence of long-term cardiovascular sequelae in children after in utero exposure to preeclampsia. Maternal hypertension and/or placental ischaemia during pregnancy increase the risk of hypertension, stroke, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in the offspring later in life. The mechanisms associated with CVD seem to be a combination of genetic, molecular, and environmental factors which can be defined as fetal and postnatal programming. The aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia and possibility of CVD in the offspring. Unfortunately, due to its multifactorial nature, a clear dependency mechanism between preeclampsia and CVD is difficult to establish.