Healthy hearts are one key to healthy pregnancies and important in the global effort to reduce maternal deaths. Disparities across the Americas highlight the critical need for improved cardiovascular health before, during and after pregnancy.
On Bump Day, July 20, the American Heart Association (the Association), a global force for healthier lives for all, is joining with the Council of Heart Diseases in Women of the Inter-American Society of Cardiology (SIAC) to call for improved maternal resources and health care access in Central and South America in support of new mothers and their babies. Bump Day is led by the What to Expect Project to raise awareness and support so that every mom gets the help she needs to deliver a healthy start in life for the baby she loves, regardless of the color of her skin, where she lives or her ability to pay.
"The risk of cardiovascular diseases can be the result of a complicated pregnancy, coupled with risk factors already established in the mother," said Cláudia Almonte, MD, associate director of the department of cardiology at the Centro Medico de Diabetes, Obesidad y Especialidades (CEMDOE) in the Dominican Republic and coordinator for council of heart diseases in women (SIAC Mujer). "On Bump Day, SIAC Mujer, SIAC community and the American Heart Association are combining efforts to help women in Latin America learn about the importance of having a healthy pregnancy and receiving timely and regular care, during this period and later with her baby. We have no other option than to save the lives of mothers worldwide."
Across the globe, the rates of maternal mortality are staggering. This is due, in part, to cardiovascular disease posing a threat to women's heart health both during pregnancy and in the years that follow. The World Health Organization has made this pressing issue a priority as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Not only is it vital that women understand how improved heart health before pregnancy can reduce their medical risks later, but it is also imperative that as a global community, we can ensure that all women have access to the care that they need during pregnancy and childbirth.
In response, the Association and the SIAC have been working jointly together to exchange science and knowledge through the Go Red for Women program. Go Red for Women is the Association's signature women's initiative dedicated to improving cardiovascular health of all women globally, including addressing the maternal mortality crisis by helping women reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease before, during and after pregnancy. SIAC has conducted community facing campaigns and professional education on women and heart disease in the Americas.
"Heart disease and stroke have no borders. We are committed to increasing awareness in our community about maternal cardiovascular health," said Johanna Contreras, MD, founding member of the American Heart Association's National Hispanic Latino Cardiovascular Collaborative and associate professor of medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City. "We must ensure every Latina mother has access to the necessary care to protect her pregnancy, her health and her baby. Mothers deserve a fair chance to receive the best care to ensure a healthy pregnancy, delivery and life following childbirth."
Additional Resources
- Spanish News Release
- BumpDay: El Corazón de Mamá
- Guía de práctica clínica de la Sociedad Interamericana de Cardiología sobre prevención primaria de enfermedad cardiovascular en la mujer
- International Go Red for Women
- Call to Action: Maternal Health and Saving Mothers manuscript
- Six pregnancy complications are among red flags for heart disease later in life, American Heart Association Scientific Statement, 3/29/21
- Prenatal detection of heart defects lower in rural, poor areas and among Hispanic women, Circulation Journal Report, 5/17/21
- Cardiovascular Considerations in Caring for Pregnant Patients: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association, 5/4/20
