Zainab Mahmoud, MD, an instructor in medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has been awarded the Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red Award from the American Heart Association. Presented annually, the award recognizes what is deemed the top research article that focuses on cardiovascular disease and stroke in women and that is published in an American Heart Association journal.
Mahmoud, a cardiologist, was recognized for her study titled "Racial Disparities in Specific Maternal Cardiovascular Outcomes," published in the December 2022 issue of the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. Mahmoud's research identified rates of hospitalization for cardiovascular reasons within a year after child delivery and analyzed these rates in terms of race and ethnicity.
Her analysis found that, even when adjusted for social risk factors, cardiovascular problems were more common among Black women, and Black women had the highest risk of postpartum death within one year of delivery due to these cardiovascular problems. The findings suggest that improved access to care may reduce cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks and strokes, in the postpartum period, especially for those with chronic diseases such as high blood pressure and diabetes.
