Long‐Term Cardiovascular Impact of Postpartum Treatment After Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: Population‐Based Cohort Study

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether early antihypertensive treatment after Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) influences subsequent development of cardiovascular complications. DESIGN AND SETTING: Population-based nationwide cohort of health data set in France. POPULATION: 108 906 women with HDP (excluding pre-existing Chronic Hypertension (CH)) who delivered between 2010 and 2014, with 35 878 (33%) receiving at least one antihypertensive treatment in the month after giving birth. METHODS: Traditional Cox model, estimated 10-year cardiovascular risk. Extended Cox Step Function model and Restricted Mean Survival Time evaluated time trends. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: New-onset CH, heart failure, coronary, cerebrovascular, peripheral artery diseases and 2 composite events (one including CH, the other excluding it) over 10 years following giving birth. RESULTS: Women receiving early postnatal antihypertensive treatment had a higher long-term risk of complications over 10 years than non-treated women (CH: aHR = 3.067, 95% CI [2.996-3.139]; composite event including CH: aHR = 3.025 [2.956-3.096]; composite event excluding CH: aHR = 1.451 [1.305-1.614]). Treated women had events earlier than non-treated women, presenting a higher risk at the beginning of the postpartum period. The 10-year absolute risk for CH remained high in both groups: 44% for treated women and 18% for non-treated women. CONCLUSION: Our study shows that women receiving early postpartum antihypertensive treatment are at higher long-term cardiovascular risk, with 44% of them having CH within 10 years. Besides, approximately 1 in 5 women non-treated in the postpartum period subsequently developed CH, demonstrating that many high-risk women are not being identified in the peripartum period and may be missing opportunities for timely intervention.