Journal of International Obstetrics and Gynecology ›› 2022, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2): 125-128.doi: 10.12280/gjfckx.20210819

• Obstetric Physiology & Obstetric Disease:Review • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Impact of Pre-Eclampsia on the Cardiovascular System of the Offspring

CHEN Hui-yun, HAN Bing(), CHEN You-guo   

  1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, Jiangsu Province, China
  • Received:2021-08-30 Published:2022-04-15 Online:2022-05-09
  • Contact: HAN Bing E-mail:hanbing_Soochow@163.com

Abstract:

Pre-eclampsia is an idiopathic disease during pregnancy that causes multisystem damage and is one of the leading causes of maternal and perinatal mortality, posing a serious threat to maternal and neonatal health. The adverse intrauterine environment in pre-eclampsia predisposes to adverse neonatal outcomes such as intrauterine growth retardation, preterm birth, and low birth weight. The pathogenesis is not fully understood but exaggerated oxidative stress and inflammatory responses are involved in it. And pre-eclampsia may induce altered epigenetic modifications in the offspring, resulting in cardiovascular system remodeling during growth and development and impairing cardiovascular structure and function, which would increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in adult offspring. This article reviews the possible mechanisms of cardiovascular disease in the offspring due to adverse intrauterine environment in pre-eclampsia and the alterations in cardiovascular structure and function in the offspring, with the aim of understanding the development of fetal-derived cardiovascular disease, contributing to early intervention and interruption of the disease, and improving the health of the offspring delivered by pregnancy complicated with pre-eclampsia.

Key words: Pre-eclampsia, Cardiovascular diseases, Epigenesis,genetic, Ventricular remodeling, Premature birth