Heart Disease May Be Prevented Before Birth! Here’s What New Research Says

A study recently found that babies experiencing low levels of oxygen inside their mother's womb because of pregnancy complications frequently continue to develop heart ailment as they mature into adulthood. 

Using sheep, researchers discovered that a specialized antioxidant known as MitoQ could prevent the occurrence of heart disease from the very start.

According to the study, heredity, as well as the interaction with lifestyle risk factors such as obesity and smoking, among others, plays an important role in identifying the risk of heart disease among adults.

There is strong evidence, though, as indicated in the study, that the environment during fetal development's sensitive periods directly impacts long-term cardiovascular health, a process called "developmental programming."

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'Fetal Hypoxia'

A condition called 'fetal hypoxia' or low oxygen in the womb is among the most common complications women experience during pregnancy. 

This particular condition can be detected when, during pregnancy, a scan displays the baby is not properly developing.

Meanwhile, the study also found that low oxygen to a growing fetus can result in impairment to the heart and blood vessels in a process known as "oxidative stress."

According to Professor Dino Giussani, who led the study, a lot of individuals "may be predisposed to heart disease as adults" due to the low oxygen level they received while in the womb.

By providing a particular "mitochondria-targeted antioxidant supplement" to a complicated pregnancy, specifically, one with fetal hypoxia, the development of heart disease could be prevented, added Professor Giussani, who is from the Department of Psychology, Development, and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge.

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Use of MitoQ

Chronic hypoxia, the study authors explained, is common to a lot of pregnancies. It can result from several conditions such as preeclampsia, placenta infection, and gestational diabetes, among others.

Also, according to the research, oxidative stress is less extensively originating in the cells' mitochondria, the batteries powering the human cells, where the respiration process and production of energy take place.

To target mitochondria, the research team used MitoQ, which Professor Mike Murphy, together with his team at the MRC-Mitochondrial Biology Unit of the University of Cambridge, developed.

The study described "MitoQ" as selectively accumulating within mitochondria, where it is functioning for the reduction of oxidative stress.

Following the establishment of the treatment's safety, the research team provided the pregnant sheep with MitoQ under low conditions of oxygen.

As a result, the authors discovered that mitochondrial therapy shields against the restriction of fetal development, as well as high blood pressure in the offspring as adults.

Through the use of chicken embryos, the researchers also presented that MitoQ shields mitochondria-derived oxidative stress.

First Attempt to Test During Pregnancy

Professor Murphy explained, MitoQ has already been used in several human tests, and it was seen to have lowered hypertension among older individuals used as subjects. 

It is quite exciting, the professor added, to see the potentiality of using this specialized antioxidant to treat a baby in the womb during complications and averts problems that have the potential to arise during adulthood.

The study authors said this is the first time MitoQ is being tested during pregnancy in sheep. These are animals whose cardiovascular development is quite similar to a human baby than rats or mice.

Associate Medical Director, Professor James Leiper from the British Heart Foundation said, a human's cardiovascular health is influenced by the choices he makes in life as an adult. However, it can be traced as well, to the conditions encountered while growing inside the womb. 

This research, Professor Leiper added, exposes a possible way to lower the risk of hypertension in the future, as well as resulting heart ailment in babies brought by problematic pregnancies.

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