Pregnancy complications can signal heart disease risk years before traditional screening, study finds

Researchers at McGill University have created an innovative tool to detect heart disease risk in women at an earlier age, according to a study published in JACC: Advances. This breakthrough comes as heart disease remains the leading cause of death among women, yet current risk assessment tools were primarily developed for older populations and overlook unique factors that affect younger women.

Study senior author Robert Platt, a professor at McGill's Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health, emphasized that pregnant women are usually considered low-risk due to their age, despite complications during pregnancy potentially signaling heightened future heart disease risk. Utilizing a database of over 260,000 women aged 15 to 45 who had given birth in the U.K., researchers crafted and verified a predictive model to estimate cardiovascular risk in younger women.

The model identified several previously unaccounted-for risk factors, such as hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preterm birth, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), depression, thyroid disorders, oral contraceptive use, and social deprivation. These additional indicators could help identify women, especially younger ones, who are at higher risk of heart disease earlier than previously thought.

If implemented in routine postpartum care, this tool could facilitate earlier monitoring, lifestyle counseling, or referral to specialists, potentially preventing heart attacks or strokes later in life. The researchers are now working on validating the model in Canada and the United States, with the long-term goal of integrating a practical calculator into electronic health records to identify higher-risk patients sooner.

The study, titled "Development and Validation of a Prediction Model for Cardiovascular Risk in Reproductive-Aged Women," was led by Sonia M. Grandi and published in JACC: Advances (2026).