Incident Heart Failure Within the First and Fifth Year after Delivery Among Women With Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy and Prepregnancy Hypertension in a Diverse Population

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and pre‐pregnancy hypertension are associated with increased morbidity and mortality for the mother. Our aim was to investigate the relationships between HDP and pre‐pregnancy hypertension with maternal heart failure (HF) within 1 and 5 years of delivery and to examine racial/ethnic differences. METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study in South Carolina (2004–2016) involving 425 649 women aged 12 to 49 years (58.9% non‐Hispanic White [NHW], 31.5% non‐Hispanic Black [NHB], 9.6% Hispanic) with a live, singleton birth. Incident HF was defined by hospital/emergency department visit and death certificate data. Pre‐pregnancy hypertension and HDP (preeclampsia, eclampsia, or gestational hypertension) were based on hospitalization/emergency department visit and birth certificate data (i.e., gestational hypertension for HDP). The 425 649 women had pre‐pregnancy hypertension without superimposed HDP (pre‐pregnancy hypertension alone; 0.4%), HDP alone (15.7%), pre‐pregnancy hypertension with superimposed HDP (both conditions; 2.2%), or neither condition in any pregnancy (81.7%). Incident HF event rates per 1000 person‐years were higher in NHB than NHW women with HDP (HDP: 2.28 versus 0.96; both conditions: 4.30 versus 1.22, respectively). After adjustment, compared with women with neither condition, incident HF risk within 5 years of delivery was increased for women with pre‐pregnancy hypertension (HR,2.55, 95% CI: 1.31–4.95), HDP (HR,4.20, 95% CI: 3.66–4.81), and both conditions (HR,5.25, 95% CI: 4.24–6.50). CONCLUSIONS: Women with HDP and pre‐pregnancy hypertension were at higher HF risk (highest for superimposed preeclampsia) within 5 years of delivery. NHB women with HDP had higher HF risk than NHW women, regardless of pre‐pregnancy hypertension.