Risk of Heart Failure is 17 Times More in Preterm Born Infants

Abnormal development of the cardiovascular system in people born premature might be the risk of heart failure but the actual cause remains unknown.

More and more babies survive increasingly preterm births but run a higher risk of heart failure during childhood and adolescence than those born at full term, researchers at Karolinska Institute in Sweden report.

Babies born prematurely //are exposed to life outside the womb at a time when their organs are yet to fully mature and their bodies are not entirely prepared for the radical transition from fetus to neonate.

Congestive Heart Failure (Congestive Cardiac Failure) Current Management
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a condition in which the heart fails to work adequately as a pump that can deliver oxygen rich blood to the body.

‘Children born before the 28th week are 17 times more likely to suffer heart failure than those born at full term.’

In recent years, scientists have become all the more interested in the consequences of preterm birth on, amongst other things, cardiovascular health in young adults.

Complementing previous studies indicating a higher risk of hypertension, stroke and fatal cardiovascular disease, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now uncovered a hitherto unknown connection between preterm birth and heart failure in a registry study of 2.6 million individuals born between 1987 and 2012.

"We found that the risk of heart failure was higher for individuals born preterm, and inversely correlated with duration of pregnancy, in that the earlier you're born, the greater the risk," explains lead author Hanna Carr, doctoral student at Karolinska Institutet's Department of Medicine in Solna.

Failed Fertility Therapy Increases Future Risk of Heart Failure in Women
The risk of long-term cardiovascular diseases is higher in women who fail to get pregnant through fertility therapy.

The study shows that children born before the 28th week are 17 times more likely to suffer heart failure than those born at full term.

Individuals born a little later - in weeks 28 to 31 - ran just over three times the risk. This correlation held when children with birth defects were excluded from the analysis and other possible determinants, such as birth weight, socioeconomic situation and parental heart conditions, were controlled for.

Does Early Menopause Increase Heart Failure Risk in Women?
Postmenopausal women are at high risk of heart failure. The risk increases in women who attain early menopause and those who had never given birth, finds a study.

The results corroborate earlier studies indicating abnormal development of the cardiovascular system in people born prematurely. The researchers point out, however, that heart failure is very rare in children and young adults, so the risk of developing the condition at a young age is very small, even for people born prematurely.

"It could be the case that the higher risk of heart failure remains when they grow older, in which case more people will be affected as heart failure is much more common in older people," says associate professor Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, paediatrician, who led the project.

Omega-3 Fats in Fish Oil Supplements Reduce Risk Of Heart Failure
Approximately 18.8 million U.S. adults reported taking omega-3 fish oil supplements though it is not part of any recommendation.

"In general the risk of heart failure can be reduced by adopting a healthy lifestyle, including refraining from tobacco use, keeping physically active, minimising your alcohol consumption and occasionally checking your blood pressure."

Source-Eurekalert