Our cardiology and maternal fetal medicine experts are helping new moms stay heart-healthy for life.
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, affects one in 12 new mothers, yet can go unrecognized during pregnancy and even months postpartum. Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to future heart disease, including heart failure, heart attack, or stroke. The UPMC Postpartum Hypertension Program at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital helps women and their doctors manage hypertension throughout pregnancy, during delivery, and after giving birth.
During pregnancy, your heart has to work extra hard to create and pump more blood for your baby. After giving birth, your body continues to adjust to many changes that can affect your heart and blood flow. For reasons doctors don’t fully understand, those changes can result in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. If you had hypertension, preeclampsia, or gestational hypertension during pregnancy, during delivery, or shortly after delivery, you have an even higher risk of developing postpartum hypertension. Research now shows that hypertensive disorders of pregnancy can lead to early heart disease if left untreated.
Because high blood pressure typically does not have symptoms, you may not know you have it. However, high blood pressure that exceeds 140 mmHg over 90 mmHg can lead to serious cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in women. But with careful monitoring, early diagnosis, and treatment, you can manage your high blood pressure and reduce your long-term risk of future heart problems.
The UPMC Postpartum Hypertension Program at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is western Pennsylvania’s only comprehensive, multidisciplinary service dedicated to treating new mothers with pregnancy-related high blood pressure issues.
Our team includes cardiologists from the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and maternal fetal medicine specialists from UPMC Magee. Working together, we help new mothers:
Our program is designed to help if you:
Our offices are conveniently located in the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.
Our expert doctors identify, monitor, and treat these and other postpartum hypertension disorders:
Because our experts are trained in both women’s heart health and maternal fetal medicine, we understand the unique needs of new mothers. We know what signs to look for and what medicines are safe for breastfeeding mothers and their babies.
Our services also include building awareness of long-term cardiovascular disease and helping new mothers reduce their current and future risks.
If you have or are at risk for postpartum hypertension, the UPMC Postpartum Hypertension Program offers you the following services:
For your convenience, we also offer remote at-home blood pressure monitoring. You can track your readings and share them with our doctors through virtual visits.
If you need diagnostic tests, the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Magee will evaluate your heart by performing an electrocardiogram (EKG), echocardiogram, or a stress test.
Most insurance plans cover our services.
If you have chronic hypertension or have experience with high blood pressure before, during or after delivery, our consulting services can help create a plan of action to protect you and your baby-to-be. Our maternal fetal medicine and cardiology experts can help advise and support you in such areas as:
Our doctors bring years of training and expertise to their care for new mothers with high blood pressure. They also are engaged in research activities to advance medicine’s understanding of postpartum hypertension.
The UPMC Postpartum Hypertension Program offers women the collaborative services of both the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.
The UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute is one of the world’s premier centers for comprehensive cardiovascular care. Its expertise in women's heart health includes evaluations and treatments tailored to a woman’s unique cardiac needs, cutting-edge nonsurgical and surgical treatment options, and heart disease risk assessment and management.
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital is nationally ranked by U.S. News and World Report for obstetrics and gynecology. Its advanced technology and medical expertise allow UPMC Magee to care for both routine and high-risk pregnancies. Its long-standing relationships with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Magee-Womens Research Institute and Foundation offer patients access to the latest knowledge and pioneering research in every area of women’s health.
You or your doctor can request an appointment with the UPMC Postpartum Hypertension Program. Call 412-641-8870, option 0.
UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute
UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital
300 Halket St., Suite 5102
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
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