The stroke rate for pregnant women and those who recently gave birth increased alarmingly over the past dozen years, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers gathered data from a large national database of 5 to 8 million discharges from 1,000 hospitals and compared the rates of strokes from 1994-95 to 2006-07 in women who were pregnant, delivering a baby and who had recently had a baby. Pregnancy-related stroke hospitalizations increased 54 percent, from 4,085 in 1994-95 to 6,293 in 2006-07. “I am surprised at the magnitude of the increase, which is substantial,” said Elena V. Kuklina, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and senior service fellow and epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in Atlanta, Ga. “Our results indicate an urgent need to take a closer look. Stroke is such a debilitating condition. We need to put more effort into prevention.
