What Is Too High For Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

Preventing Hbp In Pregnancy

Preventing high blood pressure before pregnancy will help lower the risk of high blood pressure when you do become pregnant. In fact, the healthier you are before becoming pregnant, the healthier and easier your pregnancy will be. Healthy habits to form before pregnancy include:

• Keeping alcohol intake within safe limits

Other medical conditions, like diabetes, can also increase your risk of high blood pressure. Healthy lifestyle practices and regular check-ups can lower this risk, but probably not forever.

Whether you have high blood pressure before you get pregnant or you develop it while pregnant, one thing is for sure: regular checkups throughout your pregnancy will keep you and your unborn baby healthy.

Is There Anything You Can Do To Deal With Low Blood Pressure When Youre Pregnant

Although medication is not normally needed when this happens, there are some simple changes you can make that may reduce the likelihood of its happening.

Take it easy. Try to slow down, avoid making sudden movements, and dont stand up too quickly. If you do feel faint or dizzy, lie down on your left side, which may help to increase the blood flow to your heart.

Drink lots of water. As well as preventing dehydration, this increases your blood volume, and thus your blood pressure.

Eat a healthy diet. Your doctor may also recommend that you increase your salt intake, though its important not to overdo this.

References:

Gestational High Blood Pressure

Some women can develop new high blood pressure during their pregnancy. This is called gestational high blood pressure or pregnancy-induced high blood pressure .

Gestational high blood pressure is high blood pressure that develops for the first time after the 20th week of pregnancy. Doctors can confirm this type of high blood pressure if you do not go on to develop pre-eclampsia during your pregnancy and if your blood pressure has returned to normal within six weeks of giving birth. If you have gestational high blood pressure, you do not have protein in your urine when it is tested by your midwife or doctor during your pregnancy.

Note: some women may be found to have new high blood pressure after 20 weeks of pregnancy. At first, they may not have any protein in their urine on testing. However, they may later develop protein in their urine and so be diagnosed with pre-eclampsia . You are only said to have gestational hypertension if you do not go on to develop pre-eclampsia during your pregnancy.

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Will My Pregnancy Be Classified As High

One indicator of a high-risk pregnancy includes certain chronic medical problems, such as high blood pressure. Therefore, since you already have hypertension and have become pregnant, your pregnancy is automatically classified as high risk.

High-risk pregnancies typically need expert advice and the care of a healthcare specialist. You will most likely see a perinatologist- an obstetrician who specializes in the care of high-risk pregnancies. Perinatologists give expert care to women who have pre-existing medical conditions, as well as women who develop complications during pregnancy.

In addition, you may be referred to a perinatal care center, before delivery, to lessen the likelihood your baby may become ill. Usually, these centers work together with obstetricians and a newborn intensive care unit to provide the best care for you and your baby.

Treatments For High Blood Pressure

Your doctor or midwife will check your blood pressure regularly. If you have high blood pressure, it is important to:

• exercise regularly
• make sure you are a healthy weight

If high blood pressure is caused by a medical condition such as kidney disease, its important to talk to your doctor about what medications are safe to take during pregnancy.

Pre-eclampsia can be managed with medication and close monitoring of both you and the baby. However, it can become worse very quickly. If this happens, you may need to go to hospital or have the baby delivered early.

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How Is High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy Different From High Blood Pressure At Other Times

High blood pressure during pregnancy can impact the body in different ways than it normally would. Mothers with high blood pressure during pregnancy are at a higher risk of complications before, during and after the birth. Not only is the mothers health in danger, but the baby can be impacted by high blood pressure during pregnancy.

High blood pressure during pregnancy can affect the development of the placenta, causing the nutrient and oxygen supply to the baby to be limited. This can lead to an early delivery, low birth weight, placental separation and other complications for the baby.

Treating High Blood Pressure In Pregnancy

Is treatment necessary?

Your healthcare provider wont always recommend medications for high blood pressure during pregnancy.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that pregnant women with severe high blood pressure take medication to lower their blood pressure. Severe high blood pressure is when the systolic blood pressure is 160 or higher and/or the diastolic BP is 110 or higher. Between 140-159 systolic, and 90-109 diastolic, the science is less clear. If you have symptoms like headache and blurred vision you might need treatment.

Are blood pressure medications safe during pregnancy?

This is the million dollar question. All blood pressure-lowering medications cross the placenta and get into your babys bloodstream. But, not treating high blood pressure in pregnancy can have harmful results for mom and baby.

The concern with treating high blood pressure in pregnancy is that lowering blood pressure too quickly, and the medications themselves, can cause low birth weight. But large studies have not shown consistently whether or not this is a real concern.

Healthcare professionals are also not sure whether treating high blood pressure in pregnancy actually lowers risk of birth complications, stroke, or preeclampsia. The results of the 2018 Cochrane review and the 2017 meta-analysis show that treating high blood pressure in pregnancy lowers the risk of severe high blood pressure, but does not lower the risk of birth complications or preeclampsia.

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Does Blood Pressure Remain High After The Birth

High blood pressure in pregnancy usually disappears once the baby is born. However, there may still be some complications during the first few days after the birth and you will need to be monitored carefully for several weeks.

Women who had high blood pressure due to another condition will need to see their doctor to make sure their blood pressure returns to safe levels.

Se Puede Clasificar Mi Embarazo Como De Alto Riesgo

Un indicador de un embarazo de alto riesgo incluye ciertos problemas médicos crónicos, como la presión arterial alta. Por lo tanto, puesto que ya tiene hipertensión y ha quedado embarazada, su embarazo se clasifica automáticamente como de alto riesgo.Los embarazos de alto riesgo suelen necesitar asesoramiento especializado y el cuidado de un especialista de la salud. Lo más probable es ver un Perinatólogo- un obstetra que se especializa en la atención de embarazos de alto riesgo. Perinatólogos dan atención especializada a las mujeres que tienen condiciones médicas pre-existentes, así como las mujeres que desarrollan complicaciones durante el embarazo. Aprenda acerca de algunas de las complicaciones más comunes del embarazo aquí.Además, usted puede ser referida a un centro de atención perinatal, antes de el parto, para disminuir la probabilidad de que su bebé pueda enfermarse. Por lo general, estos centros trabajan en conjunto con los obstetras y una unidad de cuidados intensivos neonatales para proporcionar el mejor cuidado para usted y su bebé.

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How Is It Treated

You may need to take medicine if your doctor thinks your blood pressure is too high. Medicines used to treat high blood pressure during pregnancy include methyldopa and nifedipine.

Some common blood pressure medicines are not safe during pregnancy. If you take medicine for chronic high blood pressure:

• Talk to your doctor about the safety of your medicine before you become pregnant or as soon as you learn you are pregnant.
• Be sure that your doctor has a complete list of all the medicines you take.

If you are at high risk for pre-eclampsia, your doctor may recommend that you take low-dose aspirin and a calcium supplement during your pregnancy.

How Common Is High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

High blood pressure during pregnancy is quite a common problem.

• About 1 in 10 pregnant women have problems with high blood pressure.
• Up to 3 in 100 pregnant women have pre-existing high blood pressure.
• About 4 to 8 in 100 pregnant women have gestational high blood pressure and do not go on to develop pre-eclampsia.
• Between 2 and 8 in 100 pregnant women develop pre-eclampsia.
• For every 100 women who have already developed pre-eclampsia in one pregnancy, 16 will develop it again in a future pregnancy. Up to half of these women will develop gestational hypertension in a future pregnancy.

Problems with new high blood pressure are more common during your first pregnancy.

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Does Blood Pressure Remain High After Birth

High blood pressure in pregnancy usually disappears after the birth of a baby. However, there is still some possibility of some complications during the first few days after the birth and you will need to be monitored closely for some weeks.

And in the case of chronic hypertension where blood pressure rises due to another medical condition, you will need to see their doctor to make sure their blood pressure returns to safe levels.

What Pregnancy Complications Can High Blood Pressure Cause

High blood pressure can cause problems for you and your baby during pregnancy, including:

Problems for moms include:

If you have high blood pressure during pregnancy, youre also more likely have a cesarean birth . This is surgery in which your baby is born through a cut that your doctor makes in your belly and uterus.

Problems for babies include:

• Premature birth. This is birth that happens too early, before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Even with treatment, a pregnant woman with severe high blood pressure or preeclampsia may need to give birth early to avoid serious health problems for her and her baby.
• Fetal growth restriction. High blood pressure can narrow blood vessels in the umbilical cord. This is the cord that connects the baby to the placenta. It carries food and oxygen from the placenta to the baby. If you have high blood pressure, your baby may not get enough oxygen and nutrients, causing him to grow slowly.
• Low birthweight. This is when a baby is born weighing less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces.
• Fetal death. When a baby dies spontaneously in the womb at any time during pregnancy.
• Neonatal death. This is when a baby dies in the first 28 days of life.

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How High Is Too High

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimates that 1.5 percent of patients enter pregnancy with chronic hypertension a number that increased 67 percent from 2000 to 2009 due in part to the obesity epidemic and increased maternal age.

Having high blood pressure in pregnancy or postpartum puts you at greater risk for stroke, preterm birth, seizures, and death. Chronic hypertension increases your risk of stroke, heart attack, and death. Keeping your blood pressure in check dramatically reduces your risks.

Follow these parameters when monitoring your blood pressure:

• Normal: A normal, healthy blood pressure reading is 120/80. Once we creep over that, the brain’s ability to regulate blood flow is impacted at varying levels, depending on the patient.
• High: During pregnancy and the few weeks after, your blood pressure may be 140/90. This is considered high, but not severe. You and your doctor should keep an eye on your blood pressure to make sure it goes no higher.
• Emergency: Having a blood pressure reading of 160/110 or higher is a medical emergency.

Women who had preeclampsia may still be at risk up to six weeks after delivery. Women who had high blood pressure before and during pregnancy continue to be at risk as long as their blood pressure remains high.

Severe Hypertension Or If Pre

If your blood pressure becomes severely high or you develop pre-eclampsia, you may be referred to an obstetrician or a specialist for treatment or monitoring and may need admission to hospital. You will need much closer supervision and will probably need to have your baby early.

The treatment and monitoring aim to keep you and your baby safe while your baby grows and develops as much as possible. If your baby does need to be delivered early there are treatments available to decrease the complications of being born prematurely.Read more about pre-eclampsia.

New onset hypertension after 20 weeks. Severe hypertension systolic pressure 160 mmHg or diastolic pressure 110 mmHg.

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What Are The Causes Of High Blood Pressure In Pregnancy

Causes of High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy: What You Need to Know

High blood pressure also known as is one of the most common and serious conditions affecting women worldwide.

Hypertension is known as the silent killer and is responsible for more than 300,000 deaths each year in the United States.

It affects women of all ages and their newborns equally, yet more than 13 million people are living with this condition.

High blood pressure during pregnancy can cause a wide range of problems for the baby including microcephaly, brain damage, and death.

Often, women suffering from pre-eclampsia do not realize they have any problems until they become ill with the baby.

The earlier you recognize that you have high blood pressure, the sooner you can treat it and lead a normal life.

This article gives some information about the causes of high blood pressure in pregnancy and how to prevent it.

How Can I Manage My High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

Although there is no cure for chronic hypertension, there are ways to successfully manage your high blood pressure during pregnancy. Taking care of yourself is the best way to take care of your developing baby.

Below are some examples:

• Do not smoke, drink alcohol, or take illicit drugs
• Monitor your weight gain do not gain too much

Compiled using information from the following sources:

1. Harms, R. W., Johnson, R. V., & Murray, M. M. . Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

2. Mayo Clinic Staff. . Preeclampsia.

3. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. . Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month, Fifth Edition. Washington, DC: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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High Blood Pressure Complications

While many women who have hypertension prior to pregnancy do very well, there are some potential complications to be aware of. You and your doctor will come up with a plan to manage your symptoms. Additionally, women who have chronic or gestational hypertension are at risk of developing preeclampsia in their second or third trimesters.

Physiologically, the effects of progesterone typically lower blood pressure during the first and second trimester of pregnancy, according to Robert Atlas, MD, an OB/GYN who specializes in high-risk pregnancy issues at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, MD. Blood pressure will return back to pre-pregnancy levels in the third trimester.

Additionally, he says the following are some of the more common complications associated with high blood pressure in pregnancy:

• 20% to 30% chance of developing superimposed preeclampsia, if you have hypertension prior to pregnancy
• Increased risk of preterm birth
• Increased risk of fetal growth problems, which may result in low birth weight
• Women who have underlying kidney problems have an even higher risk of blood pressure complications in pregnancy

Tracking Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

A blood pressure reading is a fraction: your systolic blood pressure over your diastolic blood pressure.

The top number is your systolic pressure, which is a measurement of the pressure on your arteries when the heart is beating or squeezing blood forward through your body.

The diastolic pressure, or the lower number, is a measurement of the blood pressure in your arteries when the heart is at rest.

To determine what your normal blood pressure is during pregnancy, your doctor will likely take a baseline blood pressure measurement at your first visit. Then they will measure your blood pressure at every visit that follows.

Normal blood pressure is anything less than 120/80 mm Hg.

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How Is High Blood Pressure In Pregnancy Diagnosed

High blood pressure usually doesnt cause symptoms until your blood pressure is very high, so it is usually found during an antenatal visit when you have your blood pressure checked.

At each antenatal visit, your midwife or LMC will check your blood pressure and test your urine for protein. An increase in these are warning signs of pre-eclampsia.High blood pressure in pregnancy can be diagnosed if your blood pressure is consistently high on 2 occasions. A sudden increase in blood pressure is often the first sign of a problem. Your midwife will also check if you have any of the symptoms listed above.

What Are The Symptoms Of Preeclampsia

Possible symptoms of preeclampsia include:

• High blood pressure
• Too much protein in your urine
• Swelling in your face and hands. Your feet may also swell, but many women have swollen feet during pregnancy. So swollen feet by themselves may not be a sign of a problem.
• Headache that does not go away
• Vision problems, including blurred vision or seeing spots
• Pain in your upper right abdomen
• Trouble breathing

Eclampsia can also cause seizures, nausea and/or vomiting, and low urine output. If you go on to develop HELLP syndrome, you may also have bleeding or bruising easily, extreme fatigue, and liver failure.

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