UK Launches Platform for Pregnancy Heart Health

The PREG-HEART study is the first UK-wide, direct-to-patient digital platform specifically for researching heart health in pregnancy. It allows pregnant women, with or without pre-existing heart conditions, to enroll online and participate from home, removing geographical barriers to research participation. The platform was co-designed with women who have experienced cardiac disease in pregnancy and is hosted by Heart Hive, a patient-led cardiac research website. This initiative directly targets the second leading cause of maternal death in the UK. According to the latest MBRRACE-UK report covering 2022-2024, thrombosis and thromboembolism remain the primary cause of maternal mortality, with cardiac disease as the second most common factor. The PREG-HEART platform aims to build a large, diverse dataset by collecting health information and gaining consent for long-term follow-up via NHS records, which has been challenging with smaller, localized studies. A key objective is to improve outcomes for women from Black and other minority ethnic backgrounds, who experience significantly poorer neonatal outcomes. The study is actively partnering with maternity units in diverse communities to ensure this data is more inclusive and can help reduce health inequalities. The maternal mortality rate for Black women in the UK is more than double that of white women. The platform represents a significant step in leveraging digital health technology for maternal research, similar to other UK initiatives focused on clinical care delivery. For instance, the myMaternity app is used in Greater Manchester for remote monitoring of high-risk pregnancies, particularly for conditions like pre-eclampsia and gestational diabetes. Another tool, the Maternity Direct app, provides a secure telehealth text chat for non-urgent queries between pregnant women and midwives. PREG-HEART's focus, however, is on large-scale data collection for future research, clinical trials, and improving diagnostic pathways. The project is supported by a collaboration including the NIHR–British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Partnership, Cardiomyopathy UK, The Fetal Medicine Foundation, and Pumping Marvellous. By enabling participants to self-report data and linking it to their health records, researchers aim to better understand the natural history of various cardiovascular diseases during pregnancy. This will inform clinical guidance, lead to earlier identification of high-risk individuals, and ultimately support the development of more personalized and effective care during pregnancy.