Women who experienced Preeclampsia have a higher lifetime risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) than women who did not suffer from this pregnancy complication. Researchers wanted to know if certain markers in the placenta, like FLT-1, ENG, and CD68, could help predict a mother’s risk for heart problems six months after having preeclampsia.

Determining the Risk Elevation after Maternity (DREAM) cohort study from inpatient services at The Ottawa General Hospital (Ottawa, ON, Canada) used measurements of placenta damage, the presence of specific proteins, and clinical factors to develop a model that could predict an individual’s lifetime CVD risk soon after delivery.

While clinical factors such as total cholesterol, fasting glucose, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, the use of antihypertensive drugs, and smoking status are useful for calculating lifetime risk of CVD in general, for preeclampsia patients more individualized risk calculations soon after delivery could improve long term cardiovascular health.

Evidence of lesions in placental tissue as well as the presence of specific proteins at the time of delivery can offer clues about the subtype of preeclampsia experienced during each pregnancy. Lesions characteristic of Chronic inflammation along with CD68 proteins are associated with the inflammatory subtype and lower cholesterol levels at 6 months postpartum. The presence of Maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) type lesions along with protein markers FLT-1 and ENG are indicative of the hypoxic subtype of preeclampsia and predict elevated systolic blood pressure and cholesterol — both factors of high lifetime CVD risk.

This pilot study shows that evaluating placental damage, biomarker presence, and other clinical data can enhance prediction of CVD risk after preeclampsia. These exploratory findings highlight the potential of more individualized CVD risk stratification following a hypertensive pregnancy.

Take Home Message:

Investigating placental damage as well as biomarker presence can provide additional information about preeclampsia subtype and improve predictions of postpartum heart disease risk. More research is needed in the US and Canada to help determine if testing the placenta after birth can help doctors figure out which women would benefit most from specialized cardiovascular follow-up after preeclampsia to help prevent CVD. If you had preeclampsia, it is important to follow up with your primary care provider beyond pregnancy.

Citation: Erika Elizabeth Mery, Julia Hajjar, Shrreya Sudade, Goutham Vasam, Samantha Benton, Laura Gaudet, Dina El Demellawy, David Grynspan, Shannon Bainbridge, Placental anti-angiogenic and inflammatory markers and postpartum cardiovascular risk following preeclampsia, Placenta, Volume 176, 2026,Pages 43-52, ISSN 0143-4004, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.placenta.2026.01.016.

About Research Roundup:

Each quarter, our team of science writers reviews the most current research studies related to hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and summarizes those studies of greatest interest and potential impact to our community, including research studies related to risk assessment, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. Special thanks to our volunteer research team including Dr. Sig-Linda Jacobson, Dr. Jennifer Mitchell, Dr. Julie Reynolds, Amanda Yang, and Simren Gupta who make Research Roundup possible, and to our Patient Advisory Council, who reviews these materials from the patient perspective.