While most pregnant women spend their pregnancy preparing their nursery and stocking up on necessities for their newborns, nesting can have a much different approach for mothers-to-be with health challenges. Piedmont now has a multidisciplinary cardio-obstetrics program to support and empower women who would benefit from specialized cardiac care before, during and after pregnancy. This patient population might include women who have pre-existing heart conditions, have had prior cardiac interventions, or have a history of adverse pregnancy outcomes such as hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or peripartum cardiomyopathy.

Cardiologists Sara Mobasseri, M.D., Tina Varghese, M.D., and Jyoti Sharma, M.D., medical director of Piedmont’s Women’s Heart Program, lead the new cardio-obstetrics program from Piedmont Heart of Buckhead at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. They will partner with maternal-fetal medicine specialists, OB-GYNs and anesthesiologists to develop an optimized patient care plan. Comprehensive care through this program would include:

• A risk assessment and diagnostic evaluation.
• Access to advanced imaging modalities.
• Increased monitoring and education.
• Ongoing management of cardiovascular conditions.

“Our Women’s Heart Team provides specialized, comprehensive cardiovascular care for all women in Georgia, and now we are especially looking forward to helping make a positive difference in the lives of moms and moms to be in our local communities,” Dr. Sharma said. “We believe access to this program will help to fulfill an important role in the community to help reduce maternal mortality and to improve outcomes for pregnant people in metro Atlanta and, hopefully, throughout the state.”

Piedmont’s cardio-obstetrics program, located in the heart of Atlanta, addresses a significant need in the community. Nationwide, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths. The state of Georgia, in particular, has some of the highest rates of adverse outcomes, according to data from the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The data also shows that Black women have suffered the highest rates of pregnancy-related deaths over the last decade.

Piedmont’s cardio-obstetrics program at Piedmont Heart of Buckhead is accepting referrals. Physicians may call 404-605-5182 to refer a patient.

Visit piedmont.org for more information about Piedmont.