Grant: Project Grant

High blood pressure is a leading risk factor for heart disease and stroke-major causes of early death in women. In Canada, up to one in four women live with high blood pressure. Pregnancy offers a unique window to identify women at risk, as most receive medical care during this time. By using clinical prediction models, we can estimate a woman's future of developing high blood pressure before she leaves the hospital after delivery. This allows healthcare providers to plan follow-up care and take early action. However, current prediction tools are limited-they often focus only on women who had high blood pressure during pregnancy, rely on small samples, and track outcomes for just a few months. Our study will address these gaps by developing new models using health data from over 350,000 pregnancies in Alberta. These models will include all women, regardless of pregnancy complications, and will predict high blood pressure up to 10 years after delivery. We will also test the models in a later group to ensure they work well over time. Ultimately, this research will help doctors identify at-risk women earlier and offer timely care to prevent long-term heart disease.