A cardiologist and investigator at Mass General Brigham in Boston has been selected to receive the American Heart Association's 2026 Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red® Award for her study documenting a dramatic increase in cardiovascular disease and pregnancy-related complications among pregnant individuals over nearly two decades. Emily S. Lau, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, will be recognized during the Association's Scientific Sessions 2026, to be held Nov. 6-9 in Chicago, with the award presented on Saturday, Nov. 7, during the annual session named for the award.
The award honors the best research article on cardiovascular disease and stroke in women published in one of the Association's peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Lau's manuscript, "Contemporary Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Pregnancy: Insights from a Real-World Pregnancy Electronic Health Record Cohort," was published online in Circulation on Oct. 6, 2025. The study examined 56,833 pregnancies among 38,996 individuals treated between 2001 and 2019, finding that maternal cardiovascular disease was present in 4% of pregnancies overall, or 8% after adjusting for age. The age-adjusted prevalence rose from 1% in 2001 to 7% in 2019. Pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications—including maternal death, major adverse cardiovascular events and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy—occurred in 15% of pregnancies overall, or 17% after age adjustment, and also increased during the study period.
Complications were more common among individuals who entered pregnancy with cardiovascular conditions or risk factors such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes or obesity, and were disproportionately higher among non-Hispanic Black women. The findings highlight the period before, during and after pregnancy as a critical opportunity to identify cardiovascular risk earlier and connect patients with preventive care.
"Dr. Lau's research demonstrates the urgent need to make cardiovascular health a routine part of care before, during and after pregnancy," said Jennifer Hall, Ph.D., FAHA, chief of data science and analytics at the American Heart Association. "By documenting how cardiovascular disease and pregnancy-related complications have increased over time, this study identifies an important opportunity to recognize risk earlier, address disparities and help more women protect their heart health throughout their lives."
Dr. Lau's manuscript was selected from 130 submissions from 18 countries published between June 1, 2025, and May 29, 2026, and was evaluated by 32 expert peer reviewers. The award is named for Nanette K. Wenger, M.D., FAHA, an emeritus professor of medicine at Emory University School of Medicine and a pioneering figure in women's cardiovascular medicine. The Association's Research Goes Red® initiative aims to empower women to contribute to health research. Additional multimedia is available on the release link.
"It is a tremendous honor to receive an award bearing Dr. Wenger's name and to share this recognition with my co-authors," said Dr. Lau. "Our findings show that more individuals are entering pregnancy with cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease, and pregnancy-related cardiovascular complications are also increasing in parallel. Pregnancy provides a critical opportunity to identify risk, strengthen prevention and help women build better cardiovascular health across their lifetime."
Dr. Lau serves as co-director of the Mass General Brigham Women's Heart Health Program, director of the Cardiometabolic Health and Hormones Clinic, and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research examines how biological sex differences and female-specific risk factors contribute to cardiovascular disease across pregnancy, infertility, menopause and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. She earned her undergraduate and medical degrees from Brown University and a master of public health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The recognition comes as the American Heart Association continues its more than century-long effort to ensure equitable health in all communities. More information about the organization's work is available at heart.org and stroke.org.
