Jessica Faulkner

With rising rates of obesity and diabetes in the United States, high blood pressure in pregnant women is becoming increasingly prevalent. This can result in many pregnancy complications, the most severe of which include preeclampsia. Preeclampsia is a serious pregnancy-related condition that can affect the placenta, kidneys, liver and other organs. It can be life-threatening for mother and baby and is known to cause miscarriage and premature birth. Women who have had preeclampsia also have a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life.

A recent study published in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension showed that the time at which preeclampsia developed during a pregnancy may predict a woman’s future risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers measured several cardiovascular risk factors in 306 Dutch women who had experienced preeclampsia or high blood pressure in pregnancy two to five years after they gave birth. Then, they separated the women into two groups: those who developed preeclampsia early in pregnancy and those who developed it late in pregnancy. The study showed that women who developed early-pregnancy preeclampsia had significantly higher blood pressure, increased cholesterol, and higher blood sugar levels and insulin sensitivity (characteristics of diabetes) than those who developed preeclampsia in late pregnancy or who had high blood pressure without preeclampsia.

This study highlights the importance of prenatal care. The timing of a preeclampsia diagnosis (early vs. late in pregnancy) may be important information not only for mothers and babies during pregnancy, but also for physicians who treat women who had the condition later in life.

Cardiovascular disease is the #1 killer of women worldwide and prevention is the best medicine. This study indicates that women with preeclampsia, particularly those who develop it early in pregnancy, need to be continually conscious of their cardiovascular health as they age. It also highlights the importance of research in helping us uncover and understand unknown risk factors to fight cardiovascular-related deaths in women.

Jessica Faulkner is a graduate student in the Department of Pharmacology and the Cardiovascular-Renal Research Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.