Pregnancy puts stress on the heart and blood vessels (cardiovascular system). Pregnant women may have heart symptoms, even if they've never had heart problems before.
At the Cardiovascular Obstetrics Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, women with heart concerns related to pregnancy are cared for by a multidisciplinary team of experts. The pregnancy heart team includes specialists in pregnancy care (obstetricians experienced in high-risk maternal and fetal medicine), heart disease (cardiologists), the kidneys and high blood pressure (nephrologists), perioperative care (anesthesiologists), heart surgery and other specialties as needed. In addition, your care team includes nurse practitioners and nurses with experience in caring for pregnant women with heart disease.
Comprehensive heart care
A cardiologist uses a 3D model of a heart to talk about how pregnancy affects the heart.
Services
The team at the Cardiovascular Obstetrics Clinic aims to provide round-the-clock care to women with concerns about their heart during pregnancy. This includes preconception counseling and care during pregnancy, at the time of delivery, and after pregnancy.
Your visit is coordinated so that you'll likely see a heart doctor (cardiologist) and pregnancy doctor (obstetrician) on the same day. Or you might benefit from a virtual appointment first.
Conditions diagnosed and treated in the Cardiovascular Obstetrics Clinic include:
Mayo Clinic offers comprehensive evaluation with diagnostic tests scheduled in a timely fashion. Your pregnancy heart team will talk with you about the testing options you might need.
Obstetric ultrasound
A pregnant woman looks on as an imaging technician does an ultrasound and her doctor points out features on the monitor.
Your individualized, comprehensive care plan may involve the following services:
Innovative research
The experts in the Cardiovascular Obstetrics Clinic research new best practices for the treatment of pregnant women with heart and blood vessel disease. This includes analysis of prior experience, ongoing assessment, learning with artificial intelligence (AI), and developing new technologies that allow for better monitoring of maternal and fetal health. For example, physician-scientists are using AI and digital tools for heart disease screening.
Ask your health care professional if you might enter a clinical study related to your condition.
Appointments
You may be referred by your primary provider, or you may make an appointment without a referral. For appointments or more information about the Cardiovascular Obstetrics Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, call Cardiovascular Diseases at 507-284-9059 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday, or complete an online appointment request form.
Nationally recognized expertise
Mayo Clinic is top-ranked in more specialties than any other hospital and has been recognized as an Honor Roll member according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2023-2024 "Best Hospitals" rankings.
Mayo Clinic campuses are nationally recognized for expertise in cardiology and cardiovascular surgery:
- Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., Mayo Clinic in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Ariz., and Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., are ranked among the Best Hospitals for heart and heart surgery by U.S. News & World Report.
- Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2023–2024 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.