Abstract
Obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia are highly prevalent among women of reproductive age and contribute to complications in >30% of pregnancies in Western countries. An accumulating body of evidence suggests that these cardiovascular disorders in women, occurring before and during their pregnancy, can affect the development of the structure, physiology and function of cardiovascular organ systems at different stages during embryonic and fetal development. These developmental adaptations might, in addition to genetics and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, increase the susceptibility of the offspring to cardiovascular disease throughout the life course. In this Review, we discuss current knowledge of the influence of maternal cardiovascular disorders, occurring before and during pregnancy, on offspring cardiovascular development, dysfunction and disease from embryonic life until adulthood. We discuss findings from contemporary, large-scale, observational studies that provide insights into specific critical periods, evidence for causality and potential underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, we focus on priorities for future research, including defining optimal cardiovascular and reproductive health in women and men before their pregnancy and identifying specific embryonic, placental and fetal molecular developmental adaptations from early pregnancy onwards. Together, these approaches will help stop the intergenerational cycle of cardiovascular disease.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 617-630 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Nature Reviews Cardiology |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| Early online date | 11 May 2023 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:R.G. received funding from the Dutch Diabetes Foundation (grant number 2017.81.002), the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (NWO, ZonMW 543003109; NWO, ZonMw 09150172110034); EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the ERA-NET Cofund action (grant number 727565), EndObesity (ZonMW 529051026). V.W.V.J received a grant from the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (NWO, ZonMw 05430052110007) and a European Research Council Consolidator Grant (ERC-2014-CoG-648916).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023, Springer Nature Limited.
