Hypertension in pregnancy

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) remain one of the major causes of pregnancy-related maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide. Affected women are also at increased risk for cardiovascular disease later in life, independently of traditional cardiovascular disease risks.

Danger symptoms include – bad headache, changes in vision such as blurry vision or flashes of light, pain in upper belly. Regular monitoring of blood pressure in pregnancy is important. If you already have blood pressure there is a risk of further worsening of blood pressure in pregnancy. Pre eclampsia is a condition where a previous normotensive person develops high blood pressure in pregnancy. This generally happens in the second trimester but can also happen at third trimester, during delivery or post delivery. Such patients can also have leakage of protein via urine. Blood pressure medications to control high BP and aspirin are the usual treatments given.