Older mums are more likely to suffer a heart attack or a stroke than women who have kids early, research reveals.
Those who delay motherhood until they are 40 or older face a higher risk of a heart attack or stroke later in life than women who have children when they are younger.
The study, presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference in Los Angeles, involved more than 72,000 women, of whom 3,300 reported becoming pregnant late in life.
The researchers compared their rates of stroke, heart attack and cardiovascular death over 12 years of follow up with women who were pregnant at a younger age.
They found that 2.4% of women who were pregnant at a younger age were at risk of ischemic stroke compared to 3.8% of women who got pregnant over the age of 40.
Risk of a hemorrhagic stroke rose from 0.5% in younger mothers to 1% in older mothers. The chance of having a heart attack also rose slightly for women who became pregnant over 40 - from 2.5% to 3%.
Meanwhile, women who got pregnant later in life had a 3.9% risk of cardiovascular death compared to 2.3% of women who became pregnant earlier in life.
Prof Adnan Qureshi, lead researcher and director of the Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Institute in Minnesota, said: “We already knew that older women were more likely than younger women to experience health problems during their pregnancy.
“Now, we know that the consequences of that later pregnancy stretch years into the future.
“Women with a late pregnancy need to be aware of their increased risk and take steps to improve their cardiovascular health. And their doctors need to remain vigilant years later in monitoring these women’s risk factors through physical examination and, perhaps more tests and earlier interventions to prevent stroke and other cardiovascular events.”
In 2014, 4% of newborns in England and Wales were born to mothers aged over 40, according to Office for National Statistics figures.