PREGNANCY complications could increase your risk of stroke in later life, a study shows.
Suffering pre-eclampsia — which causes high blood pressure and affected Kim Kardashian’s first two pregnancies — boosts the chances of the deadly disease, US researchers found.
GettySuffering pregnancy complications could increase your risk of stroke later in life, US researchers found[/caption]
Gestational hypertension and preterm births also increased the risk.
Data from more than 144,000 Finnish women showed at least 18 per cent suffered at least one issue during pregnancy.
Women with recurrent problems when expecting had double the risk of stroke before the age of 45, experts said.
Dr Natalie Bello, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, said: “This study deepens our understanding of why women may be more greatly impacted by stroke risk.
“It emphasises the need for women to share their pregnancy history with their doctors.”
Pre-eclampsia affects one in 25 British pregnancies, while one in 10 pregnant women suffer more general high blood pressure.
Kim described her ideal with pre-eclampsia during her first pregnancy as part of a charity campaign for her shapewear line SKIMS.
In a video, she said: “When I was pregnant with my daughter North, I had a condition called pre-eclampsia or toxemia, which is basically when the mom’s organs start to shut down.
“The only way to get rid of that is to deliver the baby. At 34 and a half weeks, I had to go into emergency labour — they induced me.
“North was 4 pounds. She was almost six weeks early.”
Strokes, which are caused by a blockage in blood flow to the brain, affect one in six Brits in their lifetimes, with around half occurring in women.
Previous research shows US women are at a greater risk of having a stroke and are more likely to suffer disability after one than men.
The latest study, published in Stroke, looked at whether pregnancy could be behind the danger.
Of the women studied since 1969, there were more than 316,000 pregnancies.
Around 3 per cent had more than one adverse pregnancy outcome.
Those suffering an issue while expecting were more likely to be obese, have high blood pressure, heart disease and suffer migraines.
Dr Bello said: “Most notably, women with recurrent adverse pregnancy outcomes had more than twice the stroke risk before age 45.
“We also need future research to consider the impact of adding an adverse pregnancy outcome into stroke risk calculators.
“This may better help us risk stratify women and strategize how to apply prevention strategies like getting cholesterol and blood pressure under control.”