- Complications during pregnancy linked to a higher risk of heart disease, study finds KSL.com
- Pregnancy complications could increase a woman’s stroke risk at an earlier age American Heart Association News
- Five major adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with long term risks of ischemic heart disease News-Medical.Net
- Pregnancy Complications Could Mean Lifelong Heart Risks for Women U.S. News & World Report
- Adverse pregnancy outcomes and long term risk of ischemic heart disease in mothers: national cohort and co-sibling study The BMJ
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: complications
Complications during pregnancy linked to a higher risk of heart disease, study finds
CNN
—
Five major pregnancy complications are strong lifelong risk factors for ischemic heart disease, a new study finds, with the greatest risk coming in the decade after delivery.
Ischemic heart disease refers to heart problems, including heart attack, caused by narrowed or dysfunctional blood vessels that reduce blood and oxygen flow to the heart.
Gestational diabetes and preeclampsia increased the risk of ischemic heart disease in the study by 54% and 30%, respectively, while other high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy doubled the risk. Delivering a baby early – before 37 weeks – or delivering a baby with a low birth weight were associated with a 72% and 10% increased risk, respectively.
The study, published in Wednesday in the BMJ, followed a cohort of more than 2 million women in Sweden with no history of heart disease who gave birth to single live infants between 1973 and 2015.
Roughly 30% of the women had at least one adverse pregnancy outcome. Those who had multiple adverse outcomes – whether in the same or different pregnancies – showed further increased risk of ischemic heart disease.
“These pregnancy outcomes are early signals for future risk of heart disease and can help identify high-risk women earlier and enable earlier interventions to improve their long-term outcomes and help prevent the development of heart disease in these women,” said Dr. Casey Crump, an author of the study and professor of family medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the United States and accounts for 1 in 5 female deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This research adds to mounting evidence that pregnancy provides important information about a woman’s cardiovascular health.
“What happens to a woman during pregnancy is almost like a stress test or a marker for her future cardiovascular risk after pregnancy. And unfortunately, a lot of women don’t get told this by anybody,” said CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Tara Narula, an associate professor of cardiology and the associate director of the Women’s Heart Program at Lenox Hill Hospital. She was not involved in the new study.
Although it’s not completely clear why, experts say the normal changes that occur during pregnancy may unmask underlying health issues in some women with certain risk factors.
Experiencing an adverse pregnancy outcome – even temporarily – could result in changes to blood vessels and the heart that may persist or progress after delivery, increasing a woman’s risk for cardiovascular disease.
This heightened risk is a particular concern for women in the US, experts say, where the maternal mortality rate is several times higher than in other high-income countries.
“There’s been a change in the birthing population. US women are getting pregnant at a later age, and they have already accrued maybe one or two cardiovascular risk factors. Perhaps there are other stressors in life – depression, stress, isolation, obesity – lots of different things that are impacting women in the US,” said Dr. Garima Sharma, associate professor of cardiology and director of the Cardio-Obstetrics Program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who also was not involved in the new study.
Pregnancy complications are carefully monitored during pregnancy, but there is little evaluation of and education about the effects on cardiovascular health after delivery for women, experts say.
“And so they have their delivery, they’ve had maybe preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, and nobody really follows up with them. They are not told that, in fact, they are at increased risk,” Narula said.
Gestational diabetes is a marker not only for increased risk of diabetes but also for general cardiovascular disease. Preeclampsia and eclampsia are markers for hypertension risk as well as general cardiovascular risks.
Narula, a cardiologist who specializes in caring for women, regularly considers adverse pregnancy outcomes when evaluating patients and emphasizes the continued need for this.
“The classic risk calculator that we use doesn’t have anything in there for pregnancy complications, but you know, it should for women, and hopefully someday, they will start to take that into account,” she said.
The American Heart Association recommends that all health care professionals take a detailed history of pregnancy complications when assessing a woman’s heart disease risk, but this is not consistently done in clinical practice, especially in primary care, where most women are seen, Crump says.
“Raising awareness of these findings among physicians as well as women hopefully will enable more of these women to be screened early and hopefully improve their long-term outcomes,” he said.
Roughly 1 in 3 women will have an adverse pregnancy outcome. Experts say that improving your health before getting pregnant can help avoid these issues.
“Reducing your risk should start preconception, and so getting your body and yourself into the healthiest state possible before you ever even get pregnant is really the first step,” Narula said.
This includes achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight with a good diet and regular exercise, controlling high blood pressure and diabetes, quitting smoking and managing stress.
Taking action after pregnancy is equally important, as research has estimated that only 30% to 80% of women have a postpartum checkup 6 to 8 weeks after delivery.
“Making sure that these women actually are appropriately followed after their delivery and that there is a warm handoff between [obstetrics] and [maternal-fetal medicine] to their primary care doctors or preventive cardiologists who can then talk about optimizing cardiovascular risks and reduction of these risk factors post-pregnancy in the postpartum time frame is crucial,” Sharma said.
Experts hope that increased patient and provider awareness of the connection between pregnancy and heart health will keep birth from being a cause of death.
“Cardiovascular disease is preventable. It’s a leading cause of maternal mortality, but it doesn’t have to be. If we do a better job at screening patients before they get pregnant, if we do a better job of treating them during pregnancy and postpartum, we can improve women’s outcomes,” Narula said. “It’s a tragedy to bring a new life into the world, and then the mother suffers some horrible complication and/or death that could have been prevented.”
Bay Port student dies from complications caused by flu and strep B
HOWARD, Wis. (WBAY) – A Bay Port High School student died from complications caused by a mix of Influenza A and Strep B.
According to the Howard-Suamico School DistrictAva Schmidt died Wednesday. She was a freshman at Bay Port High School.
The district sent the following letter to the school community:
“Dear HSSD Families and Staff,
It is with deep sadness that we are sharing with you news of the death of a Bay Port High School student.
Ava Schmidt, a freshman at Bay Port High School, died today, Wednesday, December 21, due to complications caused by Influenza A. Ava is the daughter of Mike and Katerina Schmidt and the sister of Gabby, a seventh grader at Bay View Middle School. Katerina is a teacher at Forest Glen Elementary School.
The District respects the family’s request for privacy during this difficult time and is focused on providing support for those impacted by Ava’s passing.
School counselors and school social workers are available to help our students and staff cope with this loss. To support student needs we will have staff available at Bay Port or by phone at 920-662-7000 Thursday morning (regardless of potential weather impact on the school day). Classroom teachers at Bay Port, Bay View, and Forest Glen will share an age-appropriate message with students Thursday morning regarding this news. We encourage you to discuss this message with your child at home this evening.
We have some suggestions (linked here) that may prove helpful to you as you discuss grief and death with your child. Additionally, Unity Hospice is a non-profit grief counseling organization that will be supporting Ava’s classmates and our students as needed in the coming days, including during winter break.
If you have any concerns about your child’s reaction to this loss, please contact us.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Ava’s family.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for Ava’s family.
Ava was the second pediatric influenza patient to die in Wisconsin this season.
DHS announced the first pediatric flu death earlier this week. They said the child lived on the western side of Wisconsin.
A pediatric death is defined as anyone under the age of 18.
DHS encourages everyone six months and older to get vaccinated against the flu. Early data shows the vaccine is a match to current strains. Vaccines can prevent or reduce the severity of flu symptoms, protecting not only yourself but the people around you, and that’s especially a concern with more holiday gatherings coming up. Two out of 3 people in Wisconsin have not received a flu shot.
“Those numbers are several percentage points lower than what we had last year, and it’s very disappointing to be honest with you. And this again is one of our meetings, going through media outlets, is really pushing the fact that we need to get people vaccinated. We need to do what we can to stop the spread of influenza. And we, unfortunately, have seen what the complications can lead to during because of this particular case, in this particular child,” DHS influenza surveillance coordinator Tom Haupt said.
You can find information on flu vaccines by calling 877-947-2211 or visiting the https://www.vaccines.gov/ website.
Local health officials say people should also try to avoid the spread of COVID-19 and RSV.
All three illnesses have the potential to be severe for young children, people who are immunocompromised, and older adults.
CLICK HERE for Wisconsin respiratory virus reports.
DHS recommends these additional steps to stay healthy this season:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for 20 seconds.
- Avoid touching your nose, eyes, and mouth.
- Stay home and away from others if you feel sick.
- Avoid being around others who are sick or have flu symptoms.
- Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze and encourage children to do the same.
- Wear a high-quality mask around others to prevent the spread of respiratory illnesses.
Copyright 2022 WBAY. All rights reserved.
Super Sized Salon’s Jamie Lopez has died at 37 after suffering from heart complications in Las Vegas
Super Sized Salon star Jamie Lopez has died at 37 after suffering from heart complications: ‘We have suffered an extraordinary loss’
- She was taken to a Las Vegas hospital amid health problems this weekend
- The series Super Sized Salon chronicled Lopez losing 400 pounds and designing her salon
- The salon said that ‘further details and arrangements will be announced soon’
Super Sized Salon star Jamie Lopez has died at 37 in Las Vegas after suffering from heart complications.
Insiders close to Lopez told TMZ that Lopez had been taken to a Las Vegas hospital this past weekend with complications to her heart.
‘We regretfully announce, with great pain, the passing of The Founder & Owner of Babydoll Beauty Couture, The Legendary Jamie Lopez,’ a BBC rep said in a statement. ‘We ask, on behalf of the Babydoll family, that you allow us time to process this tremendous loss.’
The latest: Super Sized Salon star Jamie Lopez has died at 37 in Las Vegas after suffering from heart complications
Super Sized Salon, which debuted on WE tv earlier this, chronicled Lopez losing 400 pounds – as she initially weighed 846 pounds – and designing her salon, the Las Vegas-based Babydoll Beauty Couture, from her home.
The series showed Lopez visiting the establishment for the first time, and she was about to begin production of the show’s second season.
The salon posted a statement in Lopez’s memory on its Instagram page Monday that read, ‘On behalf of the Babydoll Beauty Couture team, we regretfully announce, with great pain, the passing of The Founder & Owner of Babydoll Beauty Couture, The Legendary Jamie Lopez.’
It continued: ‘We ask, on behalf of the Babydoll family, that you allow us time to process this tremendous loss. Further details and arrangements will be announced soon.
The salon posted a statement in Lopez’s memory on its Instagram page Monday
Super Sized Salon, which debuted on WE tv earlier this, chronicled Lopez losing 400 pounds – as she initially weighed 846 pounds – and designing her salon, the Las Vegas-based Babydoll Beauty Couture, from her home
The series showed Lopez visiting the establishment for the first time, and she was about to begin production of the show’s second season
‘We have suffered an extraordinary loss and appreciate the time and space to grieve in peace. Please keep our Babydoll family & team lifted in your hearts and prayers.’
The salon thanked staffers and crew members from WE tv and Matador Content ‘for all their continuous support in this difficult time.’
Lopez told Yahoo Beauty in 2017 of her journey, ‘I started off as a makeup artist and was highly discriminated against for being a plus-size woman.’
‘I was inspired by there being no place I could get my nails or hair done in Vegas that would accommodate my needs as a plus-size woman, and I decided it was time to make some changes for the plus-size women of the world.’
Lopez said her personal experiences factored into her decision to open up a salon.
‘It makes me very upset to be mistreated because of my size, and not have a place where I can get beautiful,’ she said. ‘When women walk away from getting services done at my salon, I want them to feel beautiful, confident, and sexy.’
Lopez said that her past experiences being discriminated against for being a plus-size woman led her to open her salon
Lopez said in 2017 that she ‘decided it was time to make some changes for the plus-size women of the world’
How dangerous is the flu? What to know about symptoms and signs of complications
The U.S. is experiencing the highest number of flu hospitalizations in a decade, and there’s no sign that the virus is going to peak or go away in the coming weeks. With the busy holiday travel season approaching and a comparatively low percentage of adults vaccinated for the flu, that leaves millions at potential risk for severe complications.
While most people who get flu will recover in a few days, some can develop life-threatening complications. There have been at least 7,300 deaths from flu, including 21 children, since October, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Approximately 120,000 people have been hospitalized for the flu in the last couple of months, the CDC reported. Nine out of 10 adults hospitalized with flu had at least one underlying medical condition.
People most at risk of serious illness from the flu include children under age 5, people over age 65, immunocompromised people and people who are pregnant.
People with complications of the flu end up in the hospital most often because the virus develops into pneumonia, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and an infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco.
Bacterial pneumonia may develop when the flu virus spreads to the lower respiratory tract, leading to breathing difficulties that may require supplemental oxygen.
Warning signs of pneumonia
While many of the symptoms of influenza, such as fever and body aches, overlap with pneumonia, there are some clues that may indicate a more serious lung infection may be brewing.
A cough with yellow or green sputum, increasing fever, and pain in the chest when taking a deep breath or coughing are warning signs of pneumonia.
Some patients with pneumonia may also go on to develop sepsis, a complication that could lead to organ failure and death, especially if not treated promptly.
Pneumonia from the flu is not limited to just older people, said Dr. Jonathan Grein, an infectious disease physician and director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
“Unfortunately, we do sometimes see young healthy people presenting with really severe pneumonia as well,” Grein said. “It can occur in anybody.”
Influenza and pneumonia combined are the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S., killing tens of thousands of people a year, according to the CDC.
Flu virus can raise heart attack risk
A bout of flu is also associated with increased risk of heart attack, as well as rare cases of inflammation in the brain or muscles.
“Flu can cause all of these non-lung problems that people don’t usually think about,” Chin-Hong said.
A 2018 study found patients were six times more likely to experience a heart attack the week after influenza infection than they are at any point during the year prior, or the year after the infection.
Chin-Hong said he has treated people with flu who developed encephalitis — a dangerous inflammation of the brain that can be triggered by viral infections — or myositis, which causes a painful weakening of the muscles.
Being sick with the flu can also aggravate flare-ups of chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma, Grein said.
“The flu triggers an immune response in your body to help fight off that infection, but sometimes that response can be a little overwhelming,” he said. “In a patient with diabetes, their blood sugars increase, or you can see patients with underlying lung disease, if they get infected with influenza, that could make their breathing more difficult.”
Pregnant with flu
One of the most at-risk groups for flu complications includes pregnant people, in part because of the weakening of immune systems during pregnancy, said infectious diseases expert Dr. Carlos del Rio, an executive associate dean at the Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System in Atlanta.
Even for a healthy woman, changes to the heart and lung functions during pregnancy can make them more likely to get severely ill from flu. Despite this, many patients remain unvaccinated during their pregnancy.
A recent CDC survey found that only half of all pregnant women got their flu vaccines as recommended, leaving many at risk for severe disease from the flu.
“The most severe complication is respiratory failure, but there are other complications, such as inflammation of the heart,” del Rio said.
He worries most about respiratory failure, which can require intubation in the intensive care unit.
And there is a possibility that a harsh flu infection could lead to “long flu.” Similar to Covid, there is concern that those infected with the flu may have lingering long-term effects as well. Akiko Iwasaki, professor of immunobiology at Yale University, told NBC News in November that after the flu, it’s not unheard of to experience symptoms, especially lingering fatigue and brain fog.
More research is needed to understand the scope of the problem, however.
Is it worth it to get a flu shot?
While the flu shots are not perfect, getting vaccinated is the best way to help prevent these complications, experts agree. Full protection takes about two weeks, and although it’s still possible to become infected with the flu after getting the shot, you are less likely to get severely ill because of that added protection.
While there isn’t data yet on how effective this year’s flu vaccine is, it appears to be a “very good match” to circulating strains, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said in a briefing last week.
Even after having a diagnosed case of the flu, getting the vaccine is still important, because it provides broader protection against different strains of influenza virus. It’s possible to catch flu more than once a season, experts say.
The current vaccine protects against four strains: two influenza A strains and two influenza B strains.
“It’s not too late to get the flu shot,” Chin-Hong said. “We don’t know when flu season is going to end, and we saw a very long tail into the spring last year.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Actor Gary Friedkin Dead At 70 From COVID Complications
The actor died on Dec. 2 at a hospice care facility in Youngstown, Ohio, after “a difficult three-and-half-weeks” in ICU battling the virus, his family announced in an obituary.
Friedkin’s family encouraged “everyone to get vaccinated and boosted to protect their family and community” in its tribute.
“He was a gift to all who knew him as an amazing son, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, great-uncle and friend,” the family wrote.
“Gary lived his life to the absolute fullest, bringing endless laughs to his family and many friends, while never letting the obstacles he faced get in his way,” it added. “Gary put countless smiles on people’s faces and left so many with their own special ‘Gary story.’”
He appeared as cook Clarence in three episodes of “Happy Days” and had roles in the 1981 comedy “Under the Rainbow,” the 1982 film “Young Doctors In Love” and the 1992 animation “Cool World.” His last movie credit was for “Mother’s Day” in 2016.
“While Gary may have been short of stature, he was a giant amongst his family and friends,” his family said. “His legacy will live on as stories are told and retold for years to come by all who loved him.”
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California mom speaks out after losing infant son to RSV complications
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – A Southern California mother who lost her infant son to RSV is sharing her tragic story to warn other parents, as a surge of the dangerous virus is spreading rapidly throughout the country.
“He really was just the best baby and the sweetest little soul. We loved him. We love him so much,” says Jessica Myers through tears.
Myers lost her son William on Nov. 15. He was only 6 weeks old.
“The RSV treatments for him ended up being just too much. His little heart stopped, and it took them a long time to bring him back. When they did, my son was brain dead, and so we had a couple of days to say goodbye to him,” says Myers.
An intensive care nurse holds the foot of a patient suffering from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), who is being ventilated, in the pediatric intensive care unit of the Olgahospital of the Klinkum Stuttgart.
( Marijan Murat/picture alliance via Getty Images)
William Myers was only a few weeks old when he became sick with the virus. First, it was congestion and then a cough. The couple then took their baby to the crowded local hospital and say they had to wait six hours before William was tested for RSV.
GETTING PREGNANT SOON AFTER ABORTION OR MISCARRIAGE MIGHT HAVE LOWER RISKS THAN PREVIOUSLY SUSPECTED: STUDY
“When you get to the emergency room, request the RSV test immediately. It is a two-minute nasal swab and a five-minute test. I mean, they came back and the moment they knew that William had RSV, we were seeing a doctor within five minutes because they knew how serious it was at that point,” says Myers.
Once he tested positive for RSV, William was airlifted to another hospital and intubated. He died just three days later.
“And that’s how serious people need to take this, is that when we finally got to the emergency room and they called around to hospitals in Southern California to find space for my son, there were so many hospitals that they called that just did not have a room,” says Myers.
This transmission electron micrograph reveals the morphologic traits of the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), 1981.
(Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
“My son was born Oct. 3, a little early. Then, my son officially passed away on the 15th of November, which was his due date. So, my son left the world the day he was supposed to enter it. That really, really hurts,” says Myers.
7 DIE FROM THE FLU IN WASHINGTON AMID INTENSE FLU SEASON
Now, Myers is warning other parents that this illness is very serious and encouraging families to take extra precaution this holiday season.
“I know it’s tough to say no to your family, especially around the holidays. But, for my family, there will never be a Christmas. So, for other families, I really want them to have other Christmases. There will be other Christmases. Just keep your kids safe,” says Myers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S, on Saturday, March 14, 2020
(Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Just in the last month, cases of RSV exploded across the country. One bit of good news, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows cases nationally are dropping, but are still at concerning levels.
The surge in RSV, flu and COVID cases is fueling a pediatric bed shortage.
Many hospitals say they don’t have enough resources to handle the influx. Just over the last month, health care facilities in California, Oregon and Massachusetts have added overflow facilities, even building tents outside emergency rooms. Some have had to delay elective surgeries due to the surge.
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Doctors say a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and a fever are the main warning signs. But, little William did not have a fever, so it varies.
As we enter winter, doctors say prepare for a Tripledemic, with cases of RSV, flu and COVID peaking in January.
COVID is blamed for spike in potentially deadly pregnancy complications and stillbirths
A spike in potentially deadly pregnancy complications, some leading to stillbirths, is being blamed on COVID infections in women that can trigger dangerous blood pressure and destroy the placenta.
A study published in September asserts that if a woman contracts COVID, even a mild case, the virus can damage the placenta’s immune response to other infections – putting fetuses at risk of being delivered stillborn.
COVID infections can also trigger micro-clots in pregnant women’s blood vessels, putting them at risk of a potentially-deadly blood pressure condition called preeclampsia.
Lauren Phillips, a 32-year-old New York mom, mostly sailed through an easy pregnancy aside from becoming infected with COVID in her second trimester, which she described in her blog as a ‘mild cold.’
But a few days after her baby son Arthur was born in April, the Brooklyn-based attorney was rushed to the emergency room as her blood pressure shot up to a dangerous 160/116. Phillips, who was up to date with her vaccinations and was careful with masking, discovered she had preeclampsia doctors believe was linked to a February Omicron infection.
Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that results in 70,000 maternal and 500,000 fetal deaths worldwide each year, the Seattle Times reported, and the number of cases jumped during the pandemic.
The illness is just one part of a slew of information scientists are studying to learn more about how COVID affects pregnancy.
Experts say women who contracted COVID-19 during their pregnancy also face an elevated risk of stillbirths. But they believe vaccination can help prevent these cases, with statistics showing unvaccinated women at higher risk of complications.
Lauren Smith, a 32-year-old New York mom, sailed through an easy pregnancy aside from becoming infected with COVID in her second trimester. A few days after her baby was born, she was rushed to the hospital with high blood pressure and diagnosed with preeclampsia. Doctors think the condition was linked to her COVID infection
Earlier on in the pandemic, many thought that COVID didn’t affect unborn fetuses because few babies were born with the infection.
But in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology study published in September, it was revealed that the infection damages the placenta’s immune response to further infections.
‘What we’re seeing now is that the placenta is vulnerable to COVID-19, and the infection changes the way the placenta works, and that in turn is likely to impact the development of the fetus,’ Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf said.
Scientists also believed COVID to be a virus that mainly affected the respiratory system – but it has now been proven to wreak havoc with the circulatory system too.
Doctors also fear a COVID infection may ‘unmask’ health conditions that a pregnant woman’s immune system would otherwise be able to shield her from.
The placenta, an organ that attaches to the womb during pregnancy, connects with the umbilical cord and provides oxygen and nourishment from the mother’s bloodstream to the baby.
In the fall and winter of 2021, Amy Heerema McKenney, a Cleveland Clinic pathologist whose job involves figuring out why some babies die, began receiving eerily similar reports of stillbirths, The Times reported.
She recalled feeling ‘pretty panicked’ as she began to look into the cases, which happened in quick succession.
While a normal placenta is spongy and dark reddish hue, which shows the nourishing blood flowing through it, the ones she was studying from mothers who lost their babies were like nothing she’d ever seen. They were firm, discolored, scarred, and more of a tan color.
‘The degree of devastation was unique,’ she said, noting that most of the women were in their second trimester, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and infected with COVID at the end of their pregnancies.
While a normal placenta is spongy and dark reddish hue (top) the ones she was studying from mothers who lost their babies, were firm, discolored, scarred, and more of a tan color
During the pandemic, pregnant people infected with COVID were found to have a 60 percent greater risk of preeclampsia than those who were not infected, according to a number of studies.
They also experienced other complications, that ranged from preterm birth and infection, to dying within six weeks of the pregnancy ending.
‘Right now we’re not doing enough,’ new mother Phillips said.
‘Maybe if people knew more about the risks they would be behaving differently,’ she said, adding that she continues to have ‘lingering worries about what damage this may or may not have done’ when it comes to future pregnancies.
Frozen embryos tied to higher risk of high blood pressure-related pregnancy complications, study suggests
CNN
—
Pregnancies from in vitro fertilization using frozen embryos appear to be linked to an increased risk of complications related to high blood pressure, or hypertensive disorders, compared with when fresh embryos are used or when a pregnancy is conceived naturally.
That’s according to a study published Monday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, which included data on more than 4.5 million pregnancies, spanning almost three decades, across three European nations: Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The risk of pregnancy complications related to high blood pressure was higher after the transfer of frozen embryos compared with naturally conceived pregnancies, and the risk following fresh embryo transfers was similar to that of naturally conceived pregnancies, the data shows.
More research is needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge in the United States.
The researchers – from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and other institutions in Europe – analyzed medical birth registries from Denmark that were dated between 1994 and 2014, from Norway dated 1984 to 2015, and from Sweden dated 1985 to 2015. The registries included about 4.4 million pregnancies naturally conceived, 78,300 pregnancies that used fresh embryo transfer and 18,037 pregnancies from frozen embryo transfer.
The researchers compared odds of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy across the groups and found that the unadjusted risk of such disorders was 7.4% after frozen embryo transfer, 5.9% after fresh embryo transfer and 4.3% after natural conception. The data also showed that pregnancies from frozen and fresh embryo transfer were more frequently preterm – 6.6% of the frozen and 8.1% of the fresh, respectively – compared with naturally conceived pregnancies, at 5%.
“Frozen embryo transfers are now increasingly common all over the world, and in the last few years, some doctors have begun skipping fresh embryo transfer to routinely freeze all embryos in their clinical practice, the so-called ‘freeze-all’ approach,” lead study author Dr. Sindre H. Petersen, a Ph.D. fellow at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, said in a news release Monday.
“In summary, although most IVF pregnancies are healthy and uncomplicated,” he said, “this analysis found that the risk of high blood pressure in pregnancy was substantially higher after frozen embryo transfer compared to pregnancies from fresh embryo transfer or natural conception.”
Petersen added, “Our results highlight that careful consideration of all benefits and potential risks is needed before freezing all embryos as a routine in clinical practice.”
The findings are “in agreement with earlier population-level studies” showing a higher risk of hypertensive disorders during pregnancy after frozen embryo transfer, the researchers wrote in their study.
Last year, a large study out of France presented at the online annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology also found a higher risk of pre-eclampsia and hypertension in pregnancies derived from frozen-thawed embryos – and the risk was found to be greater when the uterus was prepared for implantation with hormone replacement therapies.
“The association between frozen embryo cycles and hypertensive disease in pregnancy has been known for a while, and there is still currently an active debate around the pros and cons of ‘Freeze all for all?’ amongst fertility doctors,” Dr. Ying Cheong, professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Southampton, said in a statement distributed by the UK-based Science Media Centre in July. She was not involved in either study.
“There are two important points to take home here, firstly, whilst frozen embryo transfer technology has transformed reproductive medicine, FET must only be performed where clinically appropriate and secondly, clinicians and scientists need to start joining the dots between what happens at early development and later at birth and beyond, a research area, in my opinion, that is still poorly supported and studied,” Cheong said.
The new study did not evaluate what could be driving this association between frozen embryo transfers and high blood pressure risks, but some IVF doctors question whether it is really fresh vs. frozen.
“There is one thing that is not clear: is it from the actual procedure of freezing the embryo or is it from the protocol used? Most IVF doctors believe from recent studies and evidence that it’s actually the medication protocol, not the IVF procedure,” Dr. Aimee Eyvazzadeh, a San Francisco-based reproductive endocrinologist, who was not involved in the new study, wrote in an email to CNN on Monday.
“There are different ways to prepare a uterus for transfer,” she said. One protocol involves a corpus luteum cyst, a fluid-filled mass that forms in the ovaries and plays an important role during pregnancy, as the corpus luteum produces the hormone progesterone that is needed during pregnancy. Another protocol relies on medications to mimic ovulation.
“Studies show that it’s the lack of corpus luteum that increases the risk and this is potentially why a frozen transfer may have a higher risk of pre-eclampsia,” Eyvazzadeh wrote.
Overall, the new study is “very important” for “anyone taking care of pregnant people after IVF,” she wrote. “Everyone taking care of pregnant people after IVF should pay extremely close attention to this study. More and more studies are showing what IVF doctors already know and that is that IVF after frozen embryo transfer can increase risk of pre-eclampsia.”
Elijah McClain’s death caused by complications from ketamine injection following restraint, coroner says in amended autopsy report
CNN
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The autopsy report for Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man who died while in police custody in Colorado three years ago, has been changed to update the cause of death from “undetermined” to “complications of ketamine administration following forcible restraint,” Adams County Chief Coroner Monica Broncucia-Jordan said Friday.
In August 2019, McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist, was walking home from a store when he was apprehended by Aurora police officers responding to a “suspicious person” call. Police said McClain had resisted and he was placed into a carotid hold.
Paramedics diagnosed McClain with “excited delirium” and administered the powerful sedative ketamine. He suffered a heart attack on the way to the hospital. Three days later, he was declared brain dead.
The original autopsy report listed the cause of McClain’s death as “undetermined.”
The coroner’s office received body camera footage, witness statements and additional records that were part of a grand jury investigation and not available before the autopsy was performed, pathologist Dr. Stephen Cina wrote in the amended autopsy report.
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“Simply put, this dosage of ketamine was too much for this individual and it resulted in an overdose, even though the blood ketamine level was consistent with a ‘therapeutic’ concentration,” CIna wrote. “I believe that Mr. McClain would most likely be alive but for the administration of ketamine.”
Cina, who was assisted at the autopsy by Broncucia-Jordan, wrote that based on his training and experience, he still believes the manner of death is “Undetermined.”
“I acknowledge that other reasonable forensic pathologists who have trained in other places may have their philosophy regarding deaths in custody and that they may consider the manner of death in this type of case to be either HOMICIDE or ACCIDENT,” the pathologist added.
CIna could not determine whether the carotid hold contributed to McClain’s death, he added.
But “I have seen no evidence that injuries inflicted by the police contributed to death,” he wrote.
The amended autopsy report was signed in July 2021. It was released Friday after a Denver District Court judge approved the coroner’s emergency motion.
McClain’s death days after his interactions with police brought renewed scrutiny of the use of carotid holds and ketamine during law enforcement stops. His case gained renewed attention during Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.
Last year a grand jury indicted three police officers and two paramedics involved in the McClain case. They face charges of manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and other charges.
In 2021, the city settled a civil rights lawsuit with the McClain family for $15 million, and the Aurora police and fire departments agreed to a consent decree to address a pattern of racial bias found by a state investigation.