Abstract
Background:
Cardiovascular disease mortality among women remains high. Observational studies are controversial about the participation of a history of gestational hypertensive disorder in cardiovascular risk.
Objective:
To verify the association between carotid atherosclerosis in menopausal women who had pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Methods:
Case-control study, with cases consisting of women with carotid atherosclerosis, defined as carotid intima-media thickness > 1 mm and/or presence of carotid plaques; the controls did not have these alterations. The significance level was set at 95%.
Results:
A total of 504 women without previous cardiovascular disease were assessed, 126 cases and 378 controls. Of the total, 67% were hypertensive; 76% were dyslipidemic; and 16% were diabetic. Approximately 10% reported a history of hypertension during pregnancy. Women with carotid atherosclerosis had higher values of systolic blood pressure (134.18 mmHg vs. 128.59 mmHg, p = 0.008) and LDL-cholesterol (156.52 mg% vs. 139.97 mg%; p = 0.0005). No statistical difference was found regarding the presence of carotid atherosclerosis and history of hypertension during pregnancy (OR 1.672, 95% CI: 0.883-3.131).
Conclusion:
The history of hypertension during pregnancy was not associated with subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in menopausal women. However, an association was observed between carotid atherosclerosis and classic risk factors, such as elevated systolic blood pressure and LDL-cholesterol levels.
Keywords:
Carotid Artery Diseases/physiopathology; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced; Women, Premenopause; Postmenopause; Case-Control Studies