CRYSTAL
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Cardiovascular Risk Following HYpertenSive Pregnancy Throughout Adult Life (CRYSTAL)
IRAS ID
330083
Contact name
Paul Leeson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Women who develop blood pressure problems during pregnancy have an increased risk of developing future cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure (hypertension), heart failure, heart attacks or strokes. Our previous work has shown that changes in the heart and blood vessels which develop as a result of hypertension during pregnancy can persist over years. Examining such changes could help us in our understanding of why there is the increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We think that some women who experienced hypertensive pregnancy may develop early changes of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, that initially do not cause any symptoms but could progress if left undetected.
Our aim is to understand the heart and blood vessel changes in women who experienced a hypertensive pregnancy compared to women who experienced normal blood pressure in pregnancy. We are particularly interested in studying changes suggestive of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. We will do this by performing detailed heart and blood vessel imaging on 150 women recruited from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), who are now in their 60s and 70s, half of whom have previously had a hypertensive pregnancy. We will link the imaging findings from this study with the existing, detailed, prospective data already collected about these women, to try and develop new ways to prevent early onset heart and blood vessel disease in women whose pregnancies are complicated by hypertension.
REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
25/WS/0009
Date of REC Opinion
4 Feb 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion