Children conceived through assisted reproduction techniques (ART) are at increased risk of high blood pressure early in life, according to a new study.
According to a Swiss study published this Wednesday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, children conceived through assisted reproduction techniques (ART) are at increased risk of high blood pressure early in life, among other cardiovascular complications.
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease, Stroke, renal failure, heart failure, arterial aneurysm, aortic dissection, arrhythmia, dementia…). Professionals even call her the “silent killer”, adds Professor Claire Mounier-Vehier, cardiologist and president of the French Federation of Cardiology, before continuing: “the disease can manifest itself through a set of non-specific symptoms: fatigue, Morning headaches, dizziness, flies in the eyes (when we see small black spots), ringing in the ears, palpitations, trouble concentrating or even a feeling of tightness in the chest are all signs of the disease “.
54 teenagers
The researchers assessed the circulatory system of 54 adolescents with an average age of 16, all born through assisted reproduction techniques and in good health, and then compared them to a control group. They measured ambulatory blood pressure, dental plaque buildup, blood vessel function, and arterial stiffness.
Scientists then found that adolescents on antiretroviral therapy had higher blood pressure than naturally conceived control participants (119/71 mmHg versus 115/69). More importantly, eight of the adolescents born using assisted reproduction techniques suffered from hypertension (over 130/80 mmHg), while only one of the participants in the control group met the criteria for the condition.
Antiretroviral therapy
“The increased prevalence of high blood pressure among participants on antiretroviral therapy is of most concern,” says Emrush Rexhaj, study director. “It is increasingly clear that antiretroviral therapy changes blood vessels in children, but the long-term consequences were not known. We now know that this puts ART children at six times the rate of hypertension. higher than children conceived naturally “.
His team also found that differences in blood pressure take five years to appear. “We need to be vigilant in the development of high blood pressure in children conceived using ART in order to implement early lifestyle changes and, if necessary, drug therapy,” concludes Larry A Weinrauch, cardiologist at Mount Auburn Hospital.
Half a million babies are born each year from IVF and ICSI
Forty years after the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first “test-tube baby”, the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) now reports that the total number of babies born as a result of fertilization in vitro (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is more than 8 million. It is estimated that more than half a million babies are born each year from IVF and ICSI as a result of more than 2 million treatments performed.
IVF is carried out outside the body, in a test tube inside which the gametes or sex cells (spermatozoa and eggs) are brought together, in order to give birth to an embryo which will subsequently be implanted in the uterus of mother or that of a surrogate mother. ICSI is a technique that involves injecting the sperm into the oocyte.
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