heart and pregnant

[Terri553]

I am 18 and have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy!!
I am on beta-blokers
i've bin trying for a baby for the past 6 months!
i just want to know what are the risk of being pregnant!!

[snwhite01]

I have HCM and I had a very healthy pregnancy.  My daughter was born almost 3 years ago and has been checked and so far shows no sign of HCM.  My father died from vent fib when he was 41 so sudden death runs in my family, I also have a septum thickness over 3cm so I was high risk.  Since the pregnancy I have had an ICD and was told once I had the ICD that I shouldn't have anymore children.  It is not what anyone wants to hear but I understand the condition.  My opinion is that you should go to your cardiologist find out how severe your case is.  Do you have syptoms?  Are you on any medications?  I had to change medications twice, first because the med I was on wasn't good to take while pregnant and then because I breastfed and the med I was changed to was secreted in breast milk...it's a little more work for us heart problem folks but it will be worth it.

[grendslori]

I don't know what kind of a Specialist cleared you. Call the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association and speak to the lady (I think her name is Lisa) that started the Association. You can do a search on line for them. It's a wonderful site with a lot of great info. I know they told my daughter no children, but she really had a severe form of this disease and needed a transplant; things may be different for you.

[Terri553]

i spoke to the specialist and they did not say alot to me about it!! they said that it would be ok but that was it...
my husband wants a baby but he is very worried about me the the baby!!
(when i do become pregnant!!)

[grendslori]

I would be VERY cautious in becoming pregnant. You need to understand that this disease can be genetic in nature and you could pass this on to your baby (NOT a fun way for a child to grow up; there are also risks involving sudden death) You need to be followed by a cardiologist that understands and deals with HCM and a specialist OB/GYN who is willing to take you on as a patient (good luck in finding one of those!) Pregnancy makes the heart work much harder which is not good in a hypertrophied heart. You may find yourself on bedrest for the entire pregnancy and you risk heart failure in yourself. You are very young to be considering pregnancy while trying to deal with this disease. have you talked with your cardiologist about this? What does your husband think about the risks you are taking?