Heart Disease and Pregnancy

THE material on which this short paper is based has been derived from one's experience in seeing cases of heart disease complicating pregnancy in the Royal Maternity Hospital during the past twenty years, and I am indebted to the members of the visiting staff of that hospital for this privilege, and, in particular, to Doctor Kenneth Hudson, lately Obstetric Tutor, for the statistical data which I shall briefly present to you. During the past fifteen years there has been a steady fall in maternal mortality for various reasons, to which attention has repeatedly been drawn by His Majesty's present Government with, perhaps, unpardonable pride, but, as MacRael has pointed out, heart disease is actually gaining a more prominent position as a cause of maternal deaths. During the years 1943-1947, 743 women in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland died from heart diseases associated with pregnancy and childbirth (Table 1). Each of these deaths was a tragedy, affecting other lives than