HeartValveSurgery com Pregnancy & Heart Valve Disease—What Should Patients Know Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 07 July 2021 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles HeartValveSurgery com Pregnancy & Heart Valve Disease—What Should Patients Know Heart surgeon Joanna Chikwe is the founding chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Patient education website HeartValveSurgery.com recently featured a video interview with cardiothoracic surgeon Joanna Chikwe, MD, professor and chair of the department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, and Rose Tompkins, MD, associate director of the institute's Adult Congenital Heart Program. They dispelled myths about heart valve disease and pregnancy, and offered advice for navigating the experience safely. Many women with heart valve disease mistakenly think that they cannot conceive because doctors have told them they shouldn't become pregnant. But Tompkins said that might not be the case. She advised these women to use contraception until they have discussed their options with an expert team. "We really believe planned pregnancy is the best pregnancy," Tompkins told HeartValveSurgery.com. When preparing to conceive, women with heart valve disease should aim to be as healthy as possible because their heart will work doubly hard to supply blood to the growing baby. "We call pregnancy nature's stress test," Chikwe said during the interview. Counseling with a heart valve specialist before conceiving is key to a safe pregnancy-especially for women who have not had valve repair or replacement. "The last thing we want to do is cardiac surgery during pregnancy," Chikwe said. Tompkins said it's also important to discuss a woman's risks for abnormal heart rhythm, bleeding, heart failure, miscarriage and preterm delivery. But overall, the outlook is good for most. "We can actually take a lot of patients very successfully through pregnancy," Tompkins told HeartValveSurgery.com. Click here to watch the complete interview on HeartValveSurgery.com. Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories HealthDay Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries October 07, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles HealthDay recently interviewed Rebecca J. Schneyer, MD, a resident in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Residency Program at Cedars-Sinai, about a study she led that found Black and Hispanic women were less likely than white women to receive minimally … KCRW Want New Omicron Booster Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot October 06, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles KCRW program Press Play recently featured Rita Shane, PharmD, vice president and chief pharmacy officer at Cedars-Sinai, discussing who qualifies for the updated COVID-19 booster and how long patients must wait before getting the shot.The Centers … ABC 7 Spider-Man Swings by 4-Year-Old Leukemia Patient s Birthday Party at Cedars-Sinai September 30, 2022 09:00 AM America/Los_Angeles ABC 7 recently profiled Cedars-Sinai patient Jabari Henley, who celebrated his fourth birthday with a special superhero at Guerin Children's newly opened inpatient facility.The Lifedriven Foundation helped throw Henley a surprise party in the Guerin … Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Share this release HeartValveSurgery com Pregnancy & Heart Valve Disease—What Should Patients Know Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW Want New Omicron Booster Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home