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Maternal arrhythmia and perinatal outcomes

Journal of Perinatology volume 36, pages 823–827 (2016)Cite this article

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Abstract

Objective:

The objective of this study was to determine whether arrhythmia in the setting of maternal cardiac disease (MCD) affects perinatal outcomes.

Study Design:

This is a retrospective cohort study of pregnant women with MCD who delivered during 2008 to 2013. Perinatal outcomes among women with an arrhythmia were compared with those without.

Results:

Among 143 women, 36 (25%) had an arrhythmia. Those with an arrhythmia were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal delivery (64 vs 43%, P<0.05) and required fewer operative vaginal births (8 vs 27%, P=0.02). Pregnancies were more likely to be complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (17 vs 5%, P<0.05), although there were no differences in the rate of small for gestational age. The risk of IUGR remained increased after controlling for confounding (adjusted odds ratio 6.98, 95% confidence interval 1.59 to 30.79, P=0.01). Two cases of placental abruption were identified among mothers with arrhythmia while none were identified in the controls (P<0.05).

Conclusion:

Patients with arrhythmias were more likely to have a spontaneous vaginal delivery. Our data suggest that these pregnancies were an increased risk for IUGR.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Ms Valerie Bosco, NP, for her invaluable contribution to the study and her tireless dedication to UCSF PACT program patients. Dr Katherine Bianco was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shiever NIH/NICHD Clinical Investigator Award (K08HD069518-01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco, CA, USA

    D Henry

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    J M Gonzalez, T N Sparks, M Killion & M-P Thiet

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    I S Harris

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    K Bianco

Authors
  1. D Henry
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  2. J M Gonzalez
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  3. I S Harris
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  4. T N Sparks
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  5. M Killion
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  6. M-P Thiet
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  7. K Bianco
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to D Henry.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Journal of Perinatology website

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Henry, D., Gonzalez, J., Harris, I. et al. Maternal arrhythmia and perinatal outcomes. J Perinatol 36, 823–827 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2016.90

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2016.90

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