Cardiac drugs in pregnancy

The spectrum ofcardiovascular disease affecting women in pregnancy and postpartum is changingand differs between countries.

In the western world, the risk of cardiovasculardisease in pregnancy has increased due to the increasing age at the firstpregnancy and the worldwide obesity epidemic leading also to early diabetes andhypertension.

In addition the treatment of congenital heart disease hasimproved leading to an increased number of women with residual heart diseasereaching childbearing age.

In the western world maternal heart disease is nowthe major cause of maternal death during pregnancy.

In the developing worldrheumatic heart disease and the cardiomyopathies dominate.

Those women oftenneed anticoagulation as they might have had a valve replacement or formed athrombus in the left heart.

Drugs during pregnancy and the breastfeeding periodis a complex subject and there is a profound shortage of evidence basedrecommendations.

As drug treatment in pregnancy concern the mother and thefetus optimum treatment of both must be targeted.

This book aims at discussing the most important indications of drugusage in pregnancy and postpartum with the aim of weighing the potential riskof a drug and the possible benefit against each other.