Overview
- Researchers report in the Journal of the American Heart Association that children exposed to placental abruption faced markedly higher heart and stroke problems by age 28.
- Offspring had about 4.6 times higher cardiovascular death, nearly three times higher cardiovascular hospitalization, and 2.4 times higher stroke hospitalization.
- Risks were greatest in the first year of life, with infants under 12 months showing the highest vulnerability.
- The analysis covered 2,949,992 singleton births in New Jersey from 1993 to 2020, found abruption in about 1% of pregnancies, and, as an observational study using records, cannot show causation.
- A sibling comparison showed similar links, and the authors and American Heart Association experts urge long-term cardiac follow-up for these children with closer coordination between obstetric and pediatric care.