Lee Padove, MD, has spent a quarter-century learning about how pregnancy affects the heart and
treating women with preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy complication that causes high blood pressure.
“I got interested in this about 25 years ago, when I had a mom who had a heart attack right after
delivering her babies,” says Dr. Padove, a Northside Hospital cardiologist. Fortunately, the mother survived,
though she went on to require bypass surgery. The episode inspired him. “I realized there wasn’t much
known about what’s now called cardiac obstetrics.”
Thanks in part to his efforts, Northside has been a pioneer in cardiac obstetrics and started one of the
first six postpartum maternal health programs in the country. Northside doctors in Atlanta delivered more
than 15,000 babies in 2019, the most of any hospital in the nation. Preeclampsia affects between 2 and
8 percent of pregnancies globally, and Dr. Padove and his colleagues see “several hundred” preeclampsia
patients a year; they also treat other cardiac diseases and symptoms affecting pregnant women.
Dr. Padove helped us answer common questions about preeclampsia and maternal heart health.
What is preeclampsia?
Preeclampsia is defined by high blood pressure during pregnancy and damage to at least one organ, such
as the kidneys or liver. But “it’s not just high blood pressure,” Dr. Padove says. “It’s a problem that starts
in the placenta, which is how the baby gets nutrients from the mom, involves damage to other organs and
may affect the mother and baby’s future health.”
The cause of preeclampsia remains unknown, but there are many theories, including that the new blood
vessels that grow to feed the placenta cause problems for the cardiovascular system as a whole.
More than 700 women a year in the U.S. die from pregnancy-related complications, including preeclampsia,
and a great number more are hospitalized with serious disease, putting enormous stress on these women
and their families. In the U.S., maternal deaths have steadily increased over the past two decades, while
other wealthy countries have had a decreasing maternal death rate.
Why is preeclampsia dangerous?
Most women who have preeclampsia will give birth to healthy babies and recover from the condition. But
preeclampsia is a threat to both mom’s and baby’s health and can be life-threatening.
Because it affects the placenta, the baby might not get adequate blood, oxygen and nutrients and may
not grow as expected, resulting in low birth weight. Moms with preeclampsia often have to deliver early
to minimize the risk of harm to themselves or their babies. Early delivery is associated with breathing
problems and other challenges for newborns.
Preeclampsia can lead to placental abruption, where the placenta separates from the uterus, causing
life-threatening bleeding. Some women’s preeclampsia progresses to more severe forms, including HELLP
syndrome, which means several organ systems have been affected, and eclampsia, the onset of seizures
or a coma. Preeclampsia can cause a stroke or another brain injury.
And unfortunately, preeclampsia can have a long reach.
Questions and Answers About Preeclampsia
This potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication requires constant monitoring.
1 of 3
