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A new NIHR-backed national study will research pregnancy-related heart disease, the UK’s leading cause of maternal death, using a digital platform for women to participate
The PREG-HEART Study will establish a UK-wide platform for cardiovascular research in pregnancy, allowing women to participate remotely and helping researchers transform understanding of heart disease, which remains a major cause of maternal mortality.
Digital platform aims to close gaps in maternal heart disease research
Heart diseases affect about 2% of pregnant women, yet evidence remains limited due to small, specialist-centric studies.
PREG-HEART enables women across the UK to join online, provide their health information, and consent to long-term follow-up of their NHS records. The digital platform was co-designed with women who experienced heart disease in pregnancy.
The study prioritises recruiting women from Black and other minority backgrounds, who have significantly poorer neonatal health outcomes. Researchers will partner with maternity units in diverse communities and work with trusted community organisers. All women, especially those from minority backgrounds, are invited to get involved.
Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Adviser to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and CEO of the NIHR, said: “Maternal heart disease can be a devastating illness. The findings from the PREG-HEART study will be crucial in growing our understanding, driving awareness among pregnant women and clinicians, and speeding up diagnosis and treatment to improve outcomes. Studies that bring research to participants in their own homes are vital as they increase accessibility to the highest quality care for all people, particularly those living with the greatest burden of disease. It gives women a voice and improves the lives of people for generations to come.
“This shows the commitment of the Department of Health and Social Care to fund research that tackles the biggest killers, address inequalities and to support the reform shifts from hospital to community and from analogue to digital. This research supports the development of a health and care system fit for the future.”
Professor Deborah Lawlor, BHF Professor of Cardiovascular Science and Clinical Epidemiology at the University of Bristol and Maternal Cardiovascular Health Lead for the NIHR-BHF Cardiovascular Partnership, said: “Maternal cardiovascular disease is a growing public health challenge, and research has been held back by a lack of large, representative studies. PREG-HEART is exactly the kind of ambitious, collaborative programme the NIHR-BHF Partnership was created to support. Importantly, it allows any pregnant woman to take part, wherever she lives. This will help us gather the scale and diversity of information needed to improve care and reduce inequalities.”
Dr Paz Tayal, Associate Professor at Imperial College London and PREG-HEART Co-Chief Investigator, said: “Heart disease in pregnancy is a critical but overlooked challenge. With PREG-HEART, we finally have a way to listen to women at scale, understand their experiences, and generate the evidence needed to make pregnancy safer for every family. This study represents a transformative step toward tackling the leading cause of maternal death in the UK.”
Dr Antonio de Marvao, Clinical Senior Lecturer at King’s College London, Consultant Cardiologist and Obstetric Physician, and PREG-HEART Co-Chief Investigator, said:
“This study gives women a voice and a way to contribute to research on their own terms. Whether they have a known heart condition or a completely normal pregnancy, every woman who joins will help us answer questions that affect families every day. PREG-HEART lays the foundation for better diagnosis, better treatment and ultimately safer pregnancies.”