Follow-up and the Power of Prevention
Many people are not followed regularly by their doctor or nurse practitioner in the months and years after pregnancy, and many people unfortunately do not have a primary care care provider.
It is now well understood that you should be followed-up after pregnancy to improve your long-term health risks. Unfortunately, some medical providers do not know about the increased heart risks associated with HDP, which is why part of the Heart Health Matters project is focused on educating healthcare providers on how to best care for you in the future.
Follow-up is important in the first weeks and months after the pregnancy, to figure out whether you require blood pressure medicine after the pregnancy or not, and to ensure that any laboratory test abnormalities become normal.
Long-term follow-up remains important for many reasons:
Your doctor, nurse, or a dietician, social worker, physical therapist or other interprofessional health provider can help you make healthy lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, smoking cessation, and increasing your activity level.
Your healthcare provider should monitor your blood pressure at least once a year, or more often if your numbers are high. Early treatment is suggested, rather than waiting for your blood pressure to become very elevated.
Your healthcare provider may check your blood and urine tests to watch for high cholesterol, kidney disease, and diabetes. Early diagnosis and management can sometimes reverse these conditions, or prevent you from developing more serious complications. These conditions can develop in the first 1 to 9 years after the pregnancy, making early and consistent follow-up important.
“Referral postpartum [after HDP] to a primary care physician or cardiologist should occur so that in the years after pregnancy, risk factors can be carefully monitored and controlled.”