Motherhood is like a dream for every woman and a 9-month long journey is no less than a roller coaster wherein you experience many changes, both emotionally and physically. The journey is beautiful, yet it is extremely crucial because these 9 months play a very significant role in determining the health of the mother, as well as the life growing inside of her. Experts specialising in heart treatment in Thane suggest that cardiovascular diseases happen to be one of the leading complications related to pregnancy and congenital heart diseases, too have become very common in the past few decades.

It is pertinent to understand there are two different types of heart problems that you can experience during pregnancy. Either it could be a complication that arises from a pre-existing cardiovascular condition or it can be a completely new heart condition that you did not have before.

Why the risks of heart problems during pregnancy?

We all know that the body of an expecting mother undergoes a lot of changes during pregnancy and all these changes can put an additional strain on her vital organs, including the heart. These changes are very normal and every woman has to undergo them. Once you give birth your body will gradually go back to how it used to be earlier. While your heart is busy supplying enough oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the life growing inside your womb, you are likely to experience the following:

• An increase in the volume of your blood, which is likely to start happening during the initial weeks of your pregnancy and continue from there. Experts from the best heart hospital in Mumbai suggest that most women 10 experience nearly 40 to 45 per cent increase in the total blood volume after conception.
• An elevated heart rate with an increase of 10 to 20 beats every minute. Your heart rate is going to be the highest in the third trimester of your pregnancy.
• An increase in the amount of blood pumped by your heart every minute, which is likely to spike up by 30 to 50 per cent. In the case of twins, it may even reach 60 per cent.

The impact of these changes:

Although these changes are normal during pregnancy, they do have an adverse effect and can give rise to symptoms that can be overwhelming at times. These include

• General body weakness and fatigue
• Feeling dizzy and lightheaded
• Falling short of breath and getting tired easily
• Having palpitations due to accelerated heartbeat

The symptoms are common during pregnancy but we cannot simply deny the fact that is are also linked with certain heart diseases and ailments. This is the reason why, the best doctors in Thane recommend pregnant women to go for regular checkups and get their symptoms assessed every now and then, to make sure that these are just triggered by pregnancy and not a result of some underlying serious heart condition.

Heart problems that one can develop during pregnancy

By now you must have understood the link between heart problems and pregnancy. Let us now learn about some common heart problems that a pregnant woman is susceptible to.

• Hypertension - you will be surprised to know that one out of every 10 pregnant women is likely to experience the problem of high blood pressure or hypertension. There can be several different types of these ranging from gestational hypertension that is experienced post 20 weeks of conception, to preeclampsia, which can even lead to organ damage and seizures.
• Gestational diabetes, which is marked by an increase in the blood sugar levels of the expecting mother post the 20th week of pregnancy.
• Arrhythmias, which is a potentially serious condition marked by an irregularity in the mother's heartbeat. You can develop the problem irrespective of whether you have ever experienced it before or not. Two of the most common arrhythmias experienced by pregnant women are Ectopic Heartbeat and Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).
• Spontaneous coronary artery dissection or SCAD, which is a very serious and life-threatening condition marked by a tear in any one or multiple arteries that are responsible for supplying blood to your heart.

There are several other conditions related to the heart that can be developed by women during pregnancy. To know more about these, consult the experts from the best hospital in Thane today.