High blood pressure during pregnancy

High blood pressure or hypertension during pregnancy is of great clinical importance, both as a cause of disease or maternal and fetal death and its impact on prenatal care resources and utilization of hospital beds. While pre-existing hypertension is rare in women of childbearing age, increased blood pressure during pregnancy is very common. The differential diagnosis between chronic hypertension and gestational (pregnancy-induced hypertension) can be very difficult, but management is basically the same.

It is surprising that in most cases, even those with serious complications such as abruptio placentae, renal failure or HELLP syndrome (destruction of red blood cells, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count), if women survive do so with total normality.

Eclampsia (high blood pressure, protein in the urine, swelling of the legs or the whole body and seizures) is easily diagnosed, but the pre-eclampsia (same as above but without seizures) is much more difficult, as it is very difficult to obtain reliable figures for comparison. These problems also apply to disease rates and perinatal mortality pregnancy hypertension and protein in urine by pre-eclampsia and they are also dependent on the quality of care and facilities available.

However, it is clear that pre-eclampsia - eclampsia is still a major cause of mortality and maternal and fetal disease, mainly in developing countries. None of the many theories about its origin has been demonstrated.

The incidence of hypertension of pregnancy is about 20% in first-and 10% in multiparous and pre-eclampsia is 5% in first-and 1.5% in multiparous Eclampsia is one of the most common complications of pregnancy and more severe.

 

 

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