Women with High Blood Pressure

Three out of four women in the western world have high blood pressure and actually know they have problems, yet fewer than one in three is controlling their blood pressure.

High blood pressure in pregnant women can be a real problem, although a lot of expectant women with elevated blood pressure go on to have vigorous and healthy babies without suffering any severe problems.

Elevated blood pressure can be hazardous for both the mother and the unborn baby if it is not monitored and treated correctly and women with pre-existing, or persistent, high blood pressure problems are more likely to have specific difficulties during their pregnancy than those with regular blood pressure.

Some women who normally have standard blood pressure can develop elevated blood pressure whilst they are pregnant and this is often called gestational hypertension.

The effects of elevated blood pressure during a pregnancy can range from very mild to relentless complications, as elevated blood pressure can harm the mother's major internal organs.

It can also cause low birth weight and early delivery of her baby. In the most serious cases, the mother develops pre-eclampsia - or "toxaemia of pregnancy" - which can threaten the lives of both the mother and her child.

Pre-eclampsia is a problem that characteristically starts after the 20th week of pregnancy and is related to elevated blood pressure and protein in the mother's urine. 

Pre-eclampsia affects the placenta, and it can also affect the mother's kidneys, liver, and brain. When pre-eclampsia causes seizures, the condition is known as eclampsia - and this is the second leading cause of maternal death in the western world.

Pre-eclampsia is also a leading cause of foetal complications, which include low birth weight, premature birth, and stillbirth.

Women with one or more of the following conditions are most at risk for developing pre-eclampsia:

• Women with a persistent hypertension problem, (high blood pressure before becoming pregnant).
• Women who developed elevated blood pressure or pre-eclampsia during a previous pregnancy, especially if these circumstances occurred early in the pregnancy.
• Women who are overweight prior to pregnancy.
• Expectant women under the age of 20 or over the age of 40.
• Women who are expectant with more than one baby.
• Women with diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or scleroderma.

Women who develop signs of pre-eclampsia are closely monitored to lessen or avoid associated problems and the only way to "cure" her pre-eclampsia is to deliver the baby.

Elevated blood pressure problems occur in 6-8 percent of all pregnancies in the western world of which about 70 percent of them are first-time pregnancies.

To determine which life style changes and medications are appropriate for you consult your doctor or obstetrician