A few days after having her first baby, Melissa Urban was recovering in Bridgeport Hospital when her blood pressure spiked. The hospital team moved her back to the labor and delivery unit for a 24-hour magnesium treatment to manage it. Unfortunately, her blood pressure remained high despite the magnesium and additional medication. It wasn’t responding to treatment as expected.
Over the following five days, after meeting many staff members, Urban met Dr. Tabassum Firoz, who leads Bridgeport’s Postpartum Heart Care Program. Urban credits Dr. Firoz with stabilizing her blood pressure, allowing her to be discharged. That was in 2021, and Urban continues to be Dr. Firoz’s patient today.
Bridgeport’s Postpartum Heart Care Program offers follow-up care for new mothers experiencing heart issues, particularly preeclampsia. This type of care is rare in the U.S. It’s one of the first programs in the Northeast aimed at reducing heart disease risk in women after complicated pregnancies.
Dr. Firoz explains that some pregnancy-related conditions can increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, potentially as soon as 10 years after giving birth. Historically, women’s reproductive health has often been seen as separate from their overall health.
Launched in 2020, the program primarily gets referrals from current patients, like Urban. It accepts patients regardless of their insurance, allowing high-risk groups, such as women of color who often face complications and lack follow-up care, to access comprehensive treatment. Over 80% of participants are Black or Latinx, with most having Medicaid or being uninsured. At least 40% have more than two cardiovascular risk factors.
The program tailors treatment plans for each patient, focusing on lifestyle changes, nutrition advice, medication management, coordinating care, connecting to resources, and transitioning to primary care. Dr. Firoz says the program is special because it runs under the hospital’s primary care clinic, offering more support, unlike other standalone clinics. While most U.S. postpartum heart health clinics are run by high-risk obstetricians, Dr. Firoz’s expertise in obstetric internal medicine provides a broader perspective. Obstetricians focus on pregnancy-related care, but internists treat a wide range of chronic adult conditions.
The program uses a holistic approach, considering patients’ health history, pregnancy complications, and societal factors affecting their health. Dr. Firoz discusses nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental health, and social determinants like finances, housing, and safety, pointing out that 90% of heart disease is preventable.
For Urban, solving her high blood pressure took months. Dr. Firoz helped her connect with an endocrinologist, cardiologist, sleep specialist, and nutritionist, forming a care team to manage her heart health. During a time when many new moms are focused on newborn care and recovering from childbirth, this clinic provided the necessary follow-up care.
Urban said she wouldn’t have sought out these specialists on her own. The program connected her with the right doctors. She was eventually diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea—a condition she wouldn’t have suspected without Dr. Firoz’s advice—and was prescribed a CPAP machine, which, along with medication, helped normalize her blood pressure.
Thanks to the comprehensive care from Bridgeport’s program, Urban is now four months into her second pregnancy, with her blood pressure under control. She reports that the pregnancy is going smoothly so far, with no issues hanging over her.
