Ask someone who has been pregnant, and they'll tell you it is a stressful time - emotionally and physically. The body undergoes massive changes to grow and protect the baby, but those changes may not be good for moms and can mask growing problems.
I spoke to a metro Detroit mother who developed heart failure while carrying her child, and her warning is simple and clear - listen to your body, because healthy babies need healthy moms.
I was 24. I was very healthy before, still extremely active," Ashley Lobocki said.
But despite an active lifestyle, the now 38-year-old Lobocki suffered heart failure carrying her only biological child.
"By the sixth, seventh month, it had gotten very worrisome. My resting heart rate was in the 140s," she said.
Lobocki was told what she was feeling was a normal pregnancy. But she knew something was wrong, and she pushed for more tests. She quickly received a call from the head of heart failure transplant. They told her it was serious, and her heart function was only 35%.
Lobocki was diagnosed with peripartum cardiomyopathy, a rare disorder in which a pregnant woman's heart becomes weakened and enlarged.
Dr. Rhym Radjef, the director of the women's heart and cario-obstetric program at Henry Ford Health, said the symptoms include, "difficulty breathing when laying down fatigue, fast heart rate, swelling in the legs. All of those could be normal, but could also be indicators of heart disease."
Radjef also founded Heart Healthy Moms. The new program focuses on managing postpartum cardiovascular problems - including chronic and gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and eclampsia. Any of which can lead to preterm labor and low birth weight for the baby and long-term problems for the mom.
"We tend to think that all those problems just finish when the baby's out, but actually they're not," Radjef said.
Patients with blood pressure problems suffer greater readmission and long-term problems later in life. Heart Healthy Moms targets these moms to manage their disease early on. Each patient monitors hypertension at home with a special blood pressure device.
It's connected to Bluetooth and monitored, so the medication team can act fast if problems arise and eliminate barriers to care like a lack of childcare or transportation. Heart Health Moms will also work on diet and exercise changes, controlling diabetes, and smoking cessation. Part of a long-term fight.
"We're talking decades, five, ten, even 20 years later, because those patients are in their 20s and their 30s," Radjef said. [09:18:28][6.8]
They will also remain at higher risk for the rest of their lives.
Lobocki says she wishes there was a program like Heart Healthy Moms when she was pregnant so her problem might have been caught earlier.
"Ultimately, I will more than likely end up with a transplant at some point. But the hope is that that's way down the line," she said.
Lobocki said she is thankful that she has been able to watch her son grow into the young man he is today.
Heart Healthy Mom has 200 blood pressure monitors to track new moms, thanks to a grant by Michigan Health Endowment Fund.
In addition to monitoring cardiovascular health, the team can work with patients on breastfeeding and help identify postpartum depression as well, so the benefits extend beyond heart health to
