Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2025 May;82(5):774-783.
doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.124.23497. Epub 2024 Nov 14.

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Women With a History of Preeclampsia

Maria G Hauge  1   2 , Peter Damm  1   2 , Klaus F Kofoed  3   4   2 , Emma L R Møller  3 , Andrea G Lopez  5 , Anne S Ersbøll  1 , Marianne Johansen  1 , Per E Sigvardsen  3 , Michael H C Pham  3 , Jens P Goetze  6   2 , Andreas Fuchs  3 , Jørgen T Kühl  7 , Børge G Nordestgaard  2   8 , Lars V Køber  3   2 , Finn Gustafsson  3   2 , Jesper J Linde  3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Women With a History of Preeclampsia

Maria G Hauge et al. Hypertension. 2025 May.

Abstract

Background: As a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy, preeclampsia is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality later in life. Since early signs of myocardial affection could indicate a higher risk of future cardiovascular disease manifestations, we investigated whether women with prior preeclampsia have a higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy compared with women from the general population and to what extent chronic hypertension affects any potential difference.

Methods: In a cohort study, women aged 40 to 55 years with prior preeclampsia were compared with age- and parity-matched women from the general population. They underwent a research cardiac computed tomography, and the primary outcome was left ventricular hypertrophy, defined as a left ventricular mass index >30 g/m2.7.

Results: In 679 women with prior preeclampsia and 672 controls (median age, 47 years), we found a higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (14.0% versus 6.4%) in the preeclampsia group with an odds ratio of 1.62, 95% CI (1.07-2.46), P=0.024, median of 15 years (range, 0-28) after pregnancy, after adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, including chronic hypertension. Left ventricular hypertrophy was more frequent among women with preeclampsia with (26.2% versus 15.6%) and without (5.5% versus 2.4%) chronic hypertension, and a mediation analysis showed that chronic hypertension explained 22% of the association between preeclampsia and left ventricular hypertrophy.

Conclusions: Women with prior preeclampsia had a 2-fold higher prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy compared with women from the general population, and preeclampsia was independently associated with left ventricular hypertrophy, regardless of the presence of cardiovascular risk factors, including chronic hypertension.

Registration: URL: https://www.clinicalTrials.gov; Unique identifier: NCT03949829.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases; hypertension; hypertrophy, left ventricular; preeclampsia; women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

A.S. Ersbøll was employed by Novo Nordisk A/S after the project commenced. Novo Nordisk A/S is not engaged in this study. P.E. Sigvardsen discloses consulting fees from Novo Nordisk A/S outside the current study. Although irrelevant to the study, F. Gustafsson discloses honoraria: Advisor (Bayer, Abbott, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Alnylam, Ionis, Pharmacosmos, Amgen), speakers fee (Orion Pharma, AstraZeneca). K.F. Kofoed has been granted research funds from AP Møller og hustru Chastine McKinney Møllers Fond, The John and Birthe Meyer Foundation, Research Council of Rigshopitalet, the University of Copenhagen, the Danish Heart Foundation, The Lundbeck Foundation, The Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation by The Danish Council for Strategic Research, Novo Nordisk Foundation. K.F. Kofoed is part of the Speakers Bureau of Canon Medical Systems. P. Damm is involved in clinical studies on the use of insulin in pregnant women with preexisting diabetes in collaboration with Novo Nordisk, but no personal honorarium is received. L.V. Køber has received speaker’s honorarium from AstraZeneca, Boehringer, Novartis, and Novo Nordisk. The other authors report no conflicts.

Comment in

Publication types

Associated data