High Pressure In Pregnancy: Symptoms And Treatment
High blood pressure in pregnancy is diagnosed when the values exceed 140/90 mmHg. Do you know what this means? Blood pressure is the force exerted by blood against the walls of your arteries. When this force is too high for some reason, it is called hypertension.
If you suspect you may be suffering from high blood pressure and are pregnant , see your doctor. Pressure indications must be controlled as they may pose a risk to the health of the mother and the baby. Dont wait for symptoms to subside and consult your doctor.
How May High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Affect My Baby
It is possible to have chronic hypertension and go on to have a healthy baby. However, chronic hypertension has the possibility of a number of adverse effects on your developing baby.These possible concerns include:
- Impairment of the babys growth
- Higher risk of breathing problems before or during labor
- Higher risk of placental abruption
- Possible side effects of the medications you are taking.
Monitor Your Salt Intake
Generally, when people with high blood pressure cut back on salt, their blood pressure falls. It even prevents blood pressure from rising.
A 2014 study published in Electrolytes & Blood Pressure shows that a reduction of dietary salt intake can decrease the number of deaths from hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and strokes.
A 2016 study by McMaster University found that, low-salt diets may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and death compared with average salt consumption. The research suggests that the only people who need to worry about reducing sodium in their diet are those with hypertension who have high salt consumption.
Always remember that the body needs a small amount of sodium to work properly, but excess salt will only increase your blood pressure and your risk for heart disease or stroke.
During pregnancy, you must keep a check on your salt intake to keep your blood pressure under control.
- Do not add a lot of salt to foods. Use herbs and spices instead to add flavor to your dish.
- Avoid processed foods, fast food, and sports drinks, which are high in sodium even if they dont taste salty.
- Avoid canned foods as they are often high in sodium.
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Whats High Blood Pressure When Pregnant Symptoms Risks Causes Diet Treatment
High blood pressure or hypertension occurs when a persons blood pressure is more than or equal to 180/30 mm Hg. For a healthy person high blood pressure might not be an issue but for pregnant women, high blood pressure is a serious health concern.
Well, high blood pressure is not always a serious health condition during pregnancy but at times it can cause harm to both the mother and developing baby. Center for disease control and prevention stated that around six to eight percent pregnant women who are between the ages of 20 to 40 have the issue of high blood pressure.
Why Is Hypertension A Problem During Pregnancy
Aanchal wanted to know how hypertension could pose a problem for her and her babys health.
High blood pressure causes pressure changes in the body, affecting the blood volume and blood flow to both the mothers vital organs and the baby, explained Dr. Priti.
High BP during pregnancy can lead to the baby remaining weak, or experiencing growth retardation due to depleted blood flow.
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How To Control Bp During Pregnancy With Pre
Pre-eclampsia may lead to fetal complications such as growth retardation and diminished blood flow to baby.
Management of pre-eclampsia involves more frequent antenatal check ups, special ultrasounds and nonstress tests explains Dr Priti.
If your blood pressure is not controlled or the blood flows to your baby are not adequate, or your baby is not growing well, you may need induction of labour before your due date, cautions Dr Priti.
Induced labour offers the baby a safer environment when the mothers uterus becomes too dangerous for its welfare.
The decision to deliver is taken when the babys survival outside the mothers body is associated with lesser risk than if the pregnancy is continued.
When To Seek Medical Treatment
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What Are The Different Forms Of High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
High blood pressure complicates about 10 percent of all pregnancies. There are several different types of high blood pressure during pregnancy. These types vary in severity and impact on the body. The forms of high blood pressure during pregnancy include:
- Chronic hypertension: High blood pressure which is present prior to pregnancy.
- Chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia: Preeclampsia, which develops in someone who has chronic hypertension .
- Gestational hypertension: High blood pressure is noted in the latter part of pregnancy, but no other signs or symptoms of preeclampsia are present. Some women will later develop preeclampsia, while others probably have high blood pressure before the pregnancy.
- Preeclampsia: A condition only found in the latter half of pregnancy and results in hypertension, protein in the urine, and generalized swelling in the mother. It can impact other organs in the body and also cause seizures .
Search Methods For Identification Of Studies
Electronic searches
We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group Trials Register by contacting the Trials Search Coordinator .
The Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Groups Trials Register is maintained by the Trials Search Coordinator and contains trials identified from:
monthly searches of the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials
weekly searches of MEDLINE
handsearches of 30 journals and the proceedings of major conferences
weekly current awareness alerts for a further 44 journals plus monthly BioMed Central email alerts.
Details of the search strategies for CENTRAL, MEDLINE and Embase, the list of handsearched journals and conference proceedings, and the list of journals reviewed via the current awareness service can be found in the Specialized Register section within the editorial information about the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group.
Trials identified through the searching activities described above are each assigned to a review topic . The Trials Search Coordinator searches the register for each review using the topic list rather than keywords.
We did not apply any language restrictions.
For details of searching carried out in earlier versions of this review, please see.
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Keeping Our Hearts Healthy
If you have elevated blood pressure , exercise can help you avoid developing hypertension. If you already have hypertension, regular physical activity can bring your blood pressure down to safer levels. Some examples of aerobic exercise you may try to lower blood pressure include walking , jogging, cycling, swimming or dancing.
If youre overweight, losing as little as 10 pounds can lower your blood pressure. It will also help with sleep apnea when your breathing briefly stops multiple times while you sleep. (It can
High blood pressure or hypertension is a common problem that most women experience when pregnant. Medical treatment isnt the only solution as there are some foods that can naturally lower blood pressure during pregnancy. This HerHaleness article gives you a brief information on such foods.
Ways To Lower Blood Pressure Naturally Naturally Lower Your Blood Pressure Quickly 6/16/2016 · Learning how to lower blood pressure quickly and naturally comes very handy, especially in times when medicines are hardly accessible. high blood Flowers in your home bring so much more than a sheer aesthetic appeal. numerous studies have shown
Rose hips are widely considered safe . However, its not currently known whether theyre safe during pregnancy and
Pregnancy is unique for every person, Breathwork doesnt require as much willpower as changing your diet, so its a great
Types of Pregnancy Hypertension
How To Prevent High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Not all cases of hypertension are in control of a person. For example if a person has a family history of high blood pressure during pregnancy, shell have to face it. Still there are certain measures which you can take to avoid hypertension.
The most important step is to maintain a simple lifestyle such as getting more physical activity and eat healthy and balance diet. The pregnant women are advised to stay hydrated, avoid excessive salt intake and go for regular parental checkups. The healthcare provider will guide you about the medication and food intake, all you have to do is to stick to the instructions provided by the doctors and you can avoid high blood pressure.
It is important to note that these steps are needed to be taken before pregnant women starts facing the problem of high blood pressure. A pregnant woman is advised to follow these preventive measures from the very beginning of her pregnancy.
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Tracking Your Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
In addition to keeping all of your prenatal care appointments so your doctor can track your blood pressure readings, you might want to turn to home blood pressure technology, which has become quite good and should be considered fairly reliable.
In fact, for women with high blood pressure concerns, a home monitor is a nice way of taking ownership of ones care and being an active participant. Ask your physician which device shed recommend and then get a quick lesson on how to use it at home.
Increase Your Potassium Intake
Potassium is an important mineral during pregnancy. It helps maintain your fluid and electrolyte balance. Further, it aids in the transmission of nerve impulses and contraction of muscles.
There are studies that suggest that pregnancy with preeclampsia and high dietary salt along with low potassium intake may have greater maternal and neonatal morbidity risk than pregnancy with preeclampsia under low dietary salt and high potassium intake.
Hence, an adequate amount of potassium helps keep your blood pressure under control. It is, actually, recommended that potassium-rich foods be part of a hypertension-management diet, whether you are pregnant or not.
A 2015 study published in the Journal of Human Hypertension reports that increased potassium intake, on top of a relatively low-sodium diet, had a beneficial effect on blood pressure.
A pregnant woman should aim for 2,000 to 4,000 mg of potassium a day.
Some of the best potassium-rich foods are sweet potatoes, tomatoes, orange juice, potatoes, bananas, kidney beans, peas, cantaloupe, honeydew melon, and dried fruits such as prunes and raisins.
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High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
Some women have high blood pressure during pregnancy. This can put the mother and her baby at risk for problems during the pregnancy. High blood pressure can also cause problems during and after delivery.1,2 The good news is that high blood pressure is preventable and treatable.
High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is very common. In the United States, high blood pressure happens in 1 in every 12 to 17 pregnancies among women ages 20 to 44.3
High blood pressure in pregnancy has become more common. However, with good blood pressure control, you and your baby are more likely to stay healthy.
The most important thing to do is talk with your health care team about any blood pressure problems so you can get the right treatment and control your blood pressurebefore you get pregnant. Getting treatment for high blood pressure is important before, during, and after pregnancy.
High Bp With Proteins In Urine During Pregnancy
When Anu Bhutani came in for an antenatal check-up at 32 weeks, her BP registered on the higher side. At 34 weeks, when she had her BP checked again, it was 150/100.
Her initial investigations revealed significant amounts of protein in urine.
She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and we decided to admit her and recommended a few investigations. She was started on medicines to lower her BP and to protect her baby.
We advised her regarding her diet and explained the importance of regular treatment and follow up.
Anu wondered why strict monitoring and several tests were important and posed her question at a follow-up consultation.
Medication cannot correct the cause of high BP during pregnancy, explains Dr. Priti.
Monitoring helps rule out possible damage occurring to the mother and baby that cannot be otherwise detected.
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High Blood Pressure In Pregnancy
5-minute read
High blood pressure in pregnancy is a common medical problem that usually disappears once the baby is born. In some cases, it can signal a serious condition called pre-eclampsia.
Your blood pressure is a measure of how strongly your blood pushes against the walls of the blood vessels. Its normally recorded in 2 numbers: the top one is the pressure when the heart is pumping, and the bottom one is the pressure in between each beat.
When you are pregnant, you are considered to have high blood pressure when the top number is 140 or more or the bottom number is 90 or more . High blood pressure is sometimes called hypertension.
Seek medical attention urgently if you have high blood pressure in pregnancy along with:
- a severe headache
- sudden swelling of the face, hands and feet
- a pain in your upper abdomen
Enjoy Walking And Get Moving :
Inactive women are at a higher risk of hypertension during pregnancy than those who exercise. Walking is one of the best cardiovascular exercises for pregnant women.
Hypertensive pregnant women can lower their blood pressure by enjoying a brisk walk of 30 to 45 minutes on a daily basis. It is a safe activity to continue throughout all nine months of the pregnancy.
- Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day or most days throughout the week.
- If you are a beginner, try low-intensity walking or swimming.
- Always talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program and ask if it is safe for you to do certain activities.
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What Is Considered High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
A blood pressure that is greater than 130/90 mm Hg or that is 15 degrees higher on the top number from where you started before pregnancy may be cause for concern.
High blood pressure during pregnancy is defined as 140 mm Hg or higher systolic, with diastolic 90 mm Hg or higher.
Early in pregnancy, usually from 5 weeks to the middle of the second trimester, a pregnant womans blood pressure may actually decrease. This is because pregnancy hormones can stimulate blood vessels to widen. As a result, the resistance to blood flow isnt as high.
Causes Of High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
There are several possible causes of high blood pressure during pregnancy, as listed below:
- Overweight or obesity According to a study published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, pre-pregnancy obesity, excessive gestational weight gain, and increased intake of energy act as potential risk factors for developing gestational hypertension.
- Sedentary lifestyle Studies have shown that women who are physically more active during pregnancy tend to have a lower risk of preeclampsia, while women with increased levels of sedentary activity are at increased risk.
- High blood pressure before conception Women with hypertension before pregnancy continue to have this condition during this pregnancy. Moreover, when a woman has pre-existing hypertension or happens to develop hypertension before the 20th week of pregnancy, it is called chronic hypertension.
- Assisted technique pregnancy, such as IVF Using assistive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization, during the conception process also increases the risk of high blood pressure in a pregnant woman, according to a study published in the Journal of Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine.
Other causes include the following:
- Smoking
- Spots or stars in front of the eyes
- Pain in the upper-right side of the abdomen
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How To Treat High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy
If you or one you loved one is facing high blood pressure during pregnancy, there is nothing to worry about. There are number of ways in which high blood pressure can be controlled. In this section we are going to discuss them.
The women who have high blood pressure during pregnancy must take hypertensive in order to reduce the blood pressure. However some hypertensives are not suitable for pregnant women. The ideal option is to consult a doctor who may recommend different medication.
Health care providers may recommend anti convulsive medications such as magnesium sulfate.
In some cases the doctors may recommend the delivery of the baby for treatment, the timing of delivery depends upon how severe the mothers condition is.
The best way to treat the high blood pressure in pregnancy is to consult the healthcare provider who can suggest you ways to control the blood pressure.