Pregnancy outcomes in women with significant valve disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective: To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of maternal/fetal outcomes in pregnant women with moderate/severe native valvular heart disease (VHD) from medium/higher Human Development Index (HDI) countries.

Methods: OvidSP platform databases were searched (1985-January 2019) to identify studies reporting pregnancy outcomes in women with moderate/severe VHD. The primary maternal outcome was maternal mortality. The primary fetal/neonatal outcome was stillbirth and neonatal death. Pooled incidences and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of maternal/fetal outcomes could only be calculated from studies involving mitral stenosis (MS) or aortic stenosis (AS).

Results: Twelve studies on 646 pregnancies were included. Pregnant women with severe MS had mortality rates of 3% (95% CI, 0% to 6%), pulmonary oedema 37% (23%-51%) and new/recurrent arrhythmias 16% (1%-25%). Their stillbirth, neonatal death and preterm birth rates were 4% (1%-7%), 2% (0%-4%), and 18% (7%-29%), respectively. Women with moderate MS had mortality rates of 1%(0%-2%), pulmonary oedema 18% (2%-33%), new/recurrent arrhythmias 5% (1%-9%), stillbirth 2% (1%-4%) and preterm birth 10%(2%-17%).Pregnant women with severe AS had a risk of mortality of 2% (0%-5%), pulmonary oedema 9% (2%-15%), and new/recurrent arrhythmias 4% (0%-7%). Their stillbirth, neonatal death and preterm birth rates were 2% (0%-5%), 3% (0%-6%) and 14%(4%-24%), respectively. No maternal/neonatal deaths were reported in moderate AS, however women experienced pulmonary oedema (8%; 0%-20%), new/recurrent arrhythmias (2%; 0%-5%), and preterm birth (13%; 6%-20%).

Conclusions: Women with moderate/severe MS and AS are at risk for adverse maternal and fetal/neonatal outcomes. They should receive preconception counseling and pregnancy care by teams with pregnancy and heart disease experience.