DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sasjm.2026.v12i02.017

Pages: 153-164

In response to the increased metabolic demands of both the mother and the fetus, pregnancy is accompanied by numerous physiological, hemodynamic, and cardiovascular changes. A normal heart adapts to these changes; however, the presence of an underlying cardiac condition may create a maternal–fetal risk situation. This risk depends on the type of heart disease and its degree of severity. This is a retrospective descriptive epidemiological study conducted over a six-year period from January 2016 to December 2022, including 30 cases of cardiac patients who delivered in the emergency department and the Gynecology and Obstetrics I Department at Hassan II University Hospital in Fez. The objective of our study is to establish the epidemiological profile of cardiac parturients managed in the Gynecology and Obstetrics I Department of Hassan II University Hospital in Fez, to specify the particular aspects of managing cardiac parturients during pregnancy in preparation for delivery, to identify the different decisive parameters influencing the mode of delivery according to the underlying heart disease, and to compare our results with data from the literature. Thus, among 24,192 deliveries, 50 women had pre-existing or newly diagnosed cardiac disease (0.2%), of whom 30 were included in the analysis. The mean maternal age was 31 years. Valvular heart disease was the most common etiology (53.3%), followed by congenital heart disease (20%) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (10%). Cesarean delivery was performed in 56.6% of cases. Although 75% of patients had preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, significant maternal complications occurred in 13% of cases, including one maternal death, one ischemic stroke, and one pulmonary embolism.