YORK, Pa. — Welcoming home a new baby can be exciting but also can be very busy, with parents focused solely on the health of their newborn.
But the health of new mothers can be just as big of a concern.
Extreme swelling and fatigue are just two of the symptoms Christi LeClair experienced for years.
"Definitely been symptomatic since having my first child in 1996," she recalled.
It took nearly two decades to learn that what was dismissed as normal pregnancy symptoms were actually warning signs of heart failure.
Doctor Minisha Kochar says it's common for heart issues to fly under the radar in women.
That's why she is dedicated to raising awareness around women's cardiology – ensuring providers and patients are educated on heart screenings to fill any gaps, especially during and after pregnancy when there is increased stress on the heart.
"The blood volume actually expands during pregnancy as well," the physician said. "So the amount of fluid that the pregnant woman's body has to metabolize is a lot higher and puts strain on the heart, and so patients that had underlying heart disease that may or may not have been diagnosed, this becomes more manifest during pregnancy."
There are also specific conditions that develop during this time or even years down the road.
Tears in the coronary arteries – also known as spontaneous coronary artery dissection – usually happen within six months of delivery and can result in sudden heart failure.
Also, pregnant women experiencing high blood pressure – preeclampsia – are at immediate risk of stroke and are 25% more likely to develop heart disease in the future.
"Even if your symptoms are not related to heart disease, they're still significant to you," Dr. Kochar said. "And we also focus on preventative cardiology here too, and so we can identify risk factors and mitigate those risk factors to try to prevent heart disease long term."
LeClair continues to work with her cardiologists and encourages all pregnant and postpartum women to take a beat and get their hearts checked.
"It's really a miracle I didn't die 10 years ago of a heart attack or a stroke," she said.
These dangerous heart conditions can develop without symptoms in otherwise healthy women, so experts say it's critical to talk to your doctor about your risks and necessary screenings.