The Bristol team, led by Professor Abigail Fraser, will receive £476,620 from the BHF to support research that aims to shed light on the warning signs of future heart problems after pregnancy.
Women who develop high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia during pregnancy are at higher risk of developing heart and circulatory diseases in future. Researchers have found that many women who experience these complications also have signs of maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) in their placentas, caused when arteries in the uterus don’t undergo the necessary changes to ensure that the placenta and the baby receive adequate blood supply during pregnancy.
In this study, researchers will use data and samples from the Children of the 90s study in the UK and a study in the Netherlands that have followed women since they were pregnant to track their health over many years. They will test their placentas to identify those that show signs of MVM and investigate whether this is associated with the development of heart and circulatory diseases in the following years.