NORFOLK, Va. — The joy of motherhood is often accompanied by unexpected challenges, and for some women, these challenges can be life-threatening. A critical, often overlooked issue is maternal heart health, and it's a message every woman needs to hear.
Between sleepless nights, constant diaper changes, and the incredible changes happening to our bodies, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But what many don't realize is that this period can also be a time of increased risk for serious health complications.
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I heard from a mother who shared with me how her life was turned upside down just days after welcoming her new baby.
"It was just a routine C-section," Leah Griffin recounted.
Everything seemed fine at first, but then, after returning home, things took a dramatic turn.
"I felt like an elephant was sitting on me. I couldn't breathe, started to sweat… everything was just a mess," Leah shared with me about her initial symptoms.
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Just days after giving birth to her second son, she had to rush to the ER.
Leah was experiencing a spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), a condition where the wall of a coronary artery suddenly tears. After eight hours of testing in the emergency room, a cardiologist finally identified the problem that Leah initially thought was simply indigestion.
"He found that the middle layer of my main artery to my heart had completely dissected," she explained.
“That's really worst-case scenario," said Dr. Petra Lynch after hearing Leah's story. "This is everyone's cardiologist’s nightmare.”
Dr. Lynch is an endometrial cardiologist at Sentara Health. She emphasized the tremendous changes a woman's body undergoes during pregnancy and the postpartum period — changes that don't simply disappear overnight.
"Maternal health and mortality have risen in recent years, leading to increased deaths in moms, which is an absolutely devastating event," Dr. Lynch stated.
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According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of new mothers. After delivery, many heart-related issues can pop up, such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia, heart attacks, and strokes, even up to a year later.
One of the challenges new moms face is distinguishing between normal postpartum symptoms and signs of something more serious.
Certain groups, including African American and Hispanic women, face a higher risk due to genetic factors, access to quality healthy food and health care, along with the added layer of clinical bias.
Dr. Lynch tells me she's working hard to address this bias.
"I educate emergency room physicians all day long about bias towards new moms, towards pregnant women," she tells me. “The studies have shown that the patient will actually recognize symptoms, go to the emergency room and that the system will fail.”
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Dr. Lynch also emphasized that women with a history of pregnancy complications are at a higher risk of future cardiovascular disease.
She also stressed the importance of communication and education.
"It's super important that we as a community… relay the message from woman to woman, from man to woman. Think about your health during pregnancy. If anything was wrong, discuss it with your physician," she said.
Leah's journey to recovery, from diagnosis to surgery and cardiac rehabilitation, was long but ultimately a story of resilience. She believes that while women's health concerns are often dismissed, there's a growing movement to change that and empower women to advocate for themselves.
"Don't put yourself off just because you're the mom and you're busy and you've got things to do," Leah urged. "We all do, but it's better to put those things on the back burner than to not do them at all."
If you're a new mom, listen to your body and don't hesitate to seek help. A healthy mom means a healthy future for the entire family.
For more information on postpartum heart health and resources for new mothers, visit the American Heart Association website here.
