Pregnancy and heart condition

[KBB28]

Hello!

I have a bicuspid aortic valve and have to have my heart checked every 3 years. I am now pregnant with my first baby and I am waiting for an appointment to have my heart checked again to see if I need obstetric input. I have been waiting ages now for my appointment and know the NHS are really pushed at the moment! I'm getting a little worried and was wondering if any one else with a BAV has given birth and what was the outcome as in, were you reccomend to have a c section? Or put on a particular ward to be monitored? Thanks for you help!! X

My mother had a BAV, she got to the age of 72 before it was discovered, so many years after me and my sister were born.
I have a mitral valve prolapse, i had no problems during pregnancy and labour. I had CS with one of them but that wasn't because of heart defect.
How long ago did you have your last check up?

Ok that's good to know! I didn't think it was anything to worry about too much but just that they wanted to check it out while I'm pregnant made me wonder. It's coming up to 3 years now that I was last checked.

1 in 1000 pregnancies cause an enlarged heart in the mother.

Having a bicuspid valve shouldn't make you much more at risk of anything but pregnancy itself is a risk, so they will want to keep an eye on you.

I assume you are going for an echo?

If they thought there was a big risk you would have been advised not to get pregnant.

They will probably do a couple more echos just to check.

So congratulations and enjoy your baby.

When they diagnosed you, did they tell you if the valve was causing any issues? Like stenosis, enlarged aorta or regurgitation? You can have BAC and it just doesnt impact your heart function at all, and then you can have it and it reduces heart function to an extent. If you have benign BAC, then yes you should get a scan, but its more a monitoring kind of thing. If you have a functional deficit from the BAC then it would be reasonable for you to push for an evaluation now you are pregnant. In particular if you had an enlarged aorta, you should be monitored.

I have a functional deficit from a prolapsed mitral valve. It got worse during pregnancy but not too bad, and then recovered after I gave birth. In my fourth pregnancy it didnt full recover, but I was also older by then, and I dont really feel any impact on me day to day and my youngest is a teen now.

If you start to feel any chest pain, dizziness or are breathless on exertion (difficult to say when you are pregnant!) then definitely get a cardiac evaluation. Also make sure all your midwives know about your cardiac history so they can evaluate you at each visit knowing the full picture. I used to tell everyone medical I saw at a check up, so it was never overlooked.