Pregnancy-derived cardiovascular risk indicators can help inform early management and prevention of cardiovascular diseases in women, a new study suggests. Lucas Bacmeister, MD, of the Clinic for Cardiology and Angiology, University of Freiburg, Germany, and colleagues from Germany and Denmark, reported these findings un a manuscript published Wednesday online in JAMA Cardiology. Roughly 30% of deaths in women are attributed to cardiovascular disease, making it the leading cause of death around the world. Women who are pregnant have unique metabolic and cardiovascular stress and are usually seen by a doctor on a regular basis. The pregnancy window may be a time to uncover long-term cardiovascular disease risks, the investigators noted. Investigators in this study examined the clinical measures and biomarkers of women who were pregnant to identify long-term cardiovascular disease risk. The study included women who were pregnant and reached at least 22 weeks of pregnancy. The data were collected in Southern Denmark between June 2010 and October 2013. A prospective subcohort of the Odense Child Cohort participants had pregnancy biomarker data available, and women who had preexisting cardiovascular disease were not included in this registry-linked, population-based cohort study. Follow-up analyses and data were obtained through December 31, 2023. A total of 38,455 women were eligible and 2,056 had biomarker data available at 12 weeks or 29 weeks (background cohort n=36,274). Measurements included clinical characteristics, obstetric outcomes and pregnancy biomarkers (soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 [sFlt-1], placental growth factor, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I [hs-cTnI], N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide). The biomarker cohort (median age=30.4 years; Danish=91.7%, First-generation immigrant=7.2%; 62.1% no previous births, 28.8% 1 previous birth, 8.1% 2 previous births) had 28 women develop cardiovascular disease over the median follow-up of 11.9 years. Independent predictors of long-term cardiovascular disease risk included maternal age, hypertensive disorders during pregnancy and third-trimester levels of hs-cTnl and sFlt-1. “A combined model including age and sFlt-1 measured at week 29 improved discrimination for CVD compared with a base model of age alone (ΔAUC, 0.16; 95% CI, 0.02-0.30),” the investigators wrote. They noted that their clinical model combining age, systolic blood pressure and non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol did not have this result. Women without prior hypertension or hypertensive disorders of pregnancy saw similar outcomes. This study demonstrates a potential opportunistic window for diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular disease in women, as pregnancy is a unique time to calculate biomarkers and clinical risk profiles. In an accompanying editorial, Sadiya S. Khan, MD, MSc, and Lynn M. Yee, MD, MPH, both of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, discussed bodily changes in women during pregnancy and potential complications that occur. The editorialists highlighted the outcomes of this present study and its importance for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in women. “These data highlight key opportunities for public health messaging and dissemination to improve awareness of CVD risk among women of all ages — especially during and soon after pregnancy, when individuals may still be closely engaged with the health care system,” Drs. Khan and Yee concluded. Sources: Bacmeister L, Glintborg D, Kjer-Møller JJ, et al. Clinical factors and biomarkers during pregnancy and risk of cardiovascular disease. JAMA Cardiol. 2026 February 18 (Article in Press). Khan SS, Yee LM. Assessment for long-term cardiovascular disease risk in pregnancy. JAMA Cardiol. 2026 February 18 (Article in Press). Image Credit: bernardbodo – stock.adobe.com