Medscape discusses why obstetric history matters when assessing cardiovascular disease risk in women with autoimmune disease.

Systemic autoimmune disease is well-recognized as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but less recognized as a cardiovascular risk factor is a history of pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, and cardiologists and rheumatologists need to include an obstetric history when managing patients with autoimmune diseases, a specialist in reproductive health in rheumatology told attendees at the 4th Annual Cardiometabolic Risk in Inflammatory Conditions conference.

"Autoimmune diseases, lupus in particular, increase the risk for both cardiovascular disease and maternal placental syndromes," Lisa R. Sammaritano, MD, rheumatologist at HSS, told attendees. "For those patients who have complications during pregnancy, it further increases their already increased risk for later cardiovascular disease."

"It is always important to obtain a reproductive health history from patients with autoimmune diseases," said Dr. Sammaritano. "This is an integral part of any medical history. In the usual setting, this includes not only pregnancy history but also use of contraception in reproductive-aged women. Unplanned pregnancy can lead to adverse outcomes in the setting of active or severe autoimmune disease or when teratogenic medications are used."

Read the full article at medscape.com.