PULMONARY-HYPERTENSION, CARDIAC DISEASE AND PREGNANCY

Objective: To ascertain the significance of coexisting pulmonary hyper tension in cardiac disease in pregnancy. Methods: Over a 3-year period a group of pregnant women with cardiac disease was followed until 6 w eeks postpartum. Twenty women with pulmonary hypertension were compare d with 20 controls without pulmonary hypertension with particular refe rence to maternal and fetal outcome. Analysis of data was carried out using Fisher's exact test and Student's t-test. Results: Except for Ei senmenger's syndrome, there were no differences in maternal morbidity and mortality between the two groups. There were more low birth weight babies but no significant differences in premature delivery rate, mod e of delivery or perinatal mortality. Conclusion: Except for Eisenmeng er's syndrome, coexisting pulmonary hypertension complicating cardiac disease in pregnancy generally has a favorable outcome for both mother and fetus.