Disturbances of the Heart: Discussion of the Treatment of the Heart in Its Various Disorders, With a Chapter on Blood PressureOsborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)
Science
Disturbances of the Heart: Discussion of the Treatment of the Heart in Its Various Disorders, With a Chapter on Blood Pressure
Osborne, Oliver T. (Oliver Thomas)
Blood pressure; Heart -- Diseases
The most serious lesion a woman may have, as far as pregnancy is
concerned, is mitral stenosis. An increased abdnominal pressure
interferes with her lung capacity, and her lungs are already
overcongested. The left ventricle may be small with mitral stenosis,
and therefore her general systemic circulation poor. For those two
reasons mitral stenosis should absolutely prohibit pregnancy. While
many women with well compensated valvular disease go through
pregnancy without serious trouble, still, as stated above, they
should be advised never to marry. If they do marry, or if the lesion
develops after marriage, warning should be given of the seriousness
of pregnancies.
If a woman becomes pregnant while there are symptoms or signs of
broken compensation, there can be no question, medically or morally,
of the advisability of evacuating the uterus. The same ruling is
true if during pregnancy the heart fails, compensation is broken,
and the usual symptoms of such heart weakness develop, provided a
period of rest in bed, with proper treatment, has shown that the
heart will not again compensate. Under such a condition delay should
not be too long, as the heart may become permanently disabled. If,
during pregnancy in a patient with a damaged heart, albuminuria
develops and the blood pressure is increased, showing kidney
insufficiency, there can be no question of delay, from every point
of view, and labor must be precipitated; the uterus must be emptied
to save the mother's life.
If a pregnant woman is known to have a degenerative condition of the
myocardium, or arteriosclerosis, the danger from the pregnancy is
serious, and the pregnancy should rarely be allowed to continue.
Even if no serious symptoms occur during the term of the pregnancy,
and the heart continues to compensate sufficiently for its defect,
labor should never be allowed to be prolonged. The tension thrown on
the heart during labor is always severe, and has not infrequently
caused acute heart failure by causing acute dilatation, and in these
damaged hearts tediousness and severe, intense exertion should not
be allowed. Proper anesthetics and proper instrumentation should be
inaugurated early.
Patients who have successfully passed through the danger of
pregnancy with cardiac lesions, possibly relieved by radical
treatments, should be warned against ever again becoming pregnant.
If this warning does not prevent future pregnancies, the family
physician and his consultant must decide just what it is proper to
do. It is to be understood that no uterus should ever be emptied
until one or more consultants have approved of such treatment.
Sometimes serious heart weakness develops during the later weeks of
pregnancy, requiring the patient to remain in bed and receive every
advantage which rest, proper care and well judged medicinal
treatment will give the circulation.
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