MU Health Care anticipates being the first of 36 institutions to enroll participants in a nationwide study of heart disease in pregnant women.
The rise of maternal mortality rates in the U.S. prompted the Heart Outcome in Pregnancy Expectations study. The project will track 1,000 pregnant women with cardiovascular disease during and after pregnancy.
MU Health Care's maternal-fetal medicine specialist Karen Florio is the co-principal investigator for the project.
"It's really important for the general public to understand that cardiovascular disease is not a disease of the old," Florio said. "It can affect you in pregnancy, and it is the number one cause of maternal mortality."
Missouri ranks 44th in the nation for maternal mortality, and mothers often struggle to access care. According to previous Missourian reporting, 51 percent of counties in the state are deemed health care deserts.
Nationally, there are very few studies focused on heart disease in pregnant women. Florio said most information is pulled from international studies with less diverse demographics.
"What makes this unique is we're looking at maternal outcomes, neonatal outcomes and heart outcomes," Florio said.
Additionally, physicians are analyzing the participants' quality of life during and after pregnancy, which is not traditionally taken into account in studies of pregnant women.
The $8.3 million of funding provided by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute will cover institution support, participant investigators and patients.
The study will span the next four years and will follow women during and after pregnancy. Participants will receive up to two follow-up surveys during pregnancy, and three post-delivery: one at six to eight weeks, one at six months and one after a year.
Surveys will focus on labor and delivery, quality of life and discrimination.
"Traditionally, marginalized women have worse experiences and higher discrimination reports, and so we want to make sure that we're capturing them adequately," Florio said.
MU Health Care began enrollment in mid-December and expects to receive final approvals for the first set of participants by mid-January.
Participants will be taken throughout the remainder of the study. Pregnant women with heart problems who are interested in participating or physicians who wish to refer patients to the study should call (573) 882-4107.
The work of the Missouri News Network is written by Missouri School of Journalism students and editors for publication by Missouri Press Association member newspapers.