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Listen to Your Heart While Expecting
Have a Heart-healthy Pregnancy
By Lisa A. Goldstein
The short-term benefits of being heart healthy include getting the heart into shape to help deal with the natural changes that occur with pregnancy, according to Dr. DeVane. Eating a healthy, well-balanced, heart-healthy diet combined with a light- to moderate-intensity regular exercise routine goes a long way in making the pregnancy a happy and healthy experience, he says. "The heart is placed under increased demands to deliver blood, oxygen and vital nutrients to both the mother and baby, so a strong, healthy heart is vital both for the baby and for Mom," he says.
In addition, Dr. DeVane says starting such a healthy routine prior to pregnancy will help the mother carry these habits over into the post-delivery stages where extra weight, the challenges of being a mom to a newborn and time constraints make starting a new exercise program difficult.
Some conditions diagnosed during pregnancy may actually be associated with heart disease at menopause, says Dr. Nieca Goldberg, spokesperson for the American Heart Association and author of Women Are Not Small Men: Life-Saving Strategies for Preventing and Healing Heart Disease in Women (Random House, 2003). Preeclampsia, which occurs during pregnancy and is characterized by high blood pressure, leg swelling and protein in the urine, can increase risk of heart disease twofold after age 50, Dr. Goldberg says. "The best advice is that even after you're pregnant, you need to follow up with your doctor to have your blood pressure, cholesterol and other risk factors checked," she says.
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