Project 176545

Heart disease and stroke, collectively referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD), represent the leading cause of death of Canadian women. As such, we need to better understand the factors that cause this disease in women in order to prevent it. One group of young women who are at particularly high risk of ultimately developing CVD later in life are those women that develop diabetes in pregnancy or gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). As part of an ongoing study, we have recruited a large group of women with and without GDM in pregnancy, who are being followed for several years following the pregnancy. This group of women is being studied over time to identify changes in the body that may lead to diabetes and CVD. In the current application, we wish to study the function of blood vessels in these women at 4 years after their pregnancy, using ultrasound tests of the forearm, since abnormalities in these vessels are known to be an early indicator of future risk of CVD. We will then see if other factors in the body that we are already measuring (such as blood sugar) lead to abnormalities in the blood vessels. Overall, our goal is to identify the factors that cause early abnormalities in blood vessel function, in the hopes of ultimately learning how to prevent the development of CVD in women.