Cardiologist and investigator Emily S. Lau, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, of Mass General Brigham in Boston, has been selected by the American Heart Association to receive the 2026 Dr. Nanette K. Wenger Research Goes Red® Award. The honor recognizes the best scientific article on cardiovascular disease and stroke in women published in one of the Association’s peer-reviewed journals during the previous year. The award will be presented during the Association’s Scientific Sessions 2026, to be held Nov. 6–9 in Chicago, at a dedicated session on Saturday, Nov. 7. The full announcement is available via release link.
Dr. Lau was chosen for her manuscript, “Contemporary Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Pregnancy: Insights from a Real-World Pregnancy Electronic Health Record Cohort,” published online in Circulation on Oct. 6, 2025. The study analyzed 56,833 pregnancies among 38,996 individuals treated between 2001 and 2019. It found that maternal cardiovascular disease was present in 4% of pregnancies overall, or 8% after adjusting for age. The age-adjusted prevalence increased 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 adjusting for age, and also rose during the study period.
Complications within one year after pregnancy were more common among individuals who entered pregnancy with cardiovascular conditions or risk factors such as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or obesity. They were also 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. The award is named for Nanette K. Wenger, M.D., FAHA, a pioneering figure in women’s cardiovascular medicine and emeritus professor at Emory University School of Medicine. The Association’s Research Goes Red® initiative aims to empower women to contribute to health research.
“It is a tremendous honor to receive an award bearing Dr. Wenger’s name and to share this recognition with my co-authors,” Dr. Lau said. “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 and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Her research is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the American Heart Association, and other institutions. For more information about the American Heart Association, visit heart.org and stroke.org.
