Pregnant high blood pressure and other things to note

Pregnancy high blood pressure is not uncommon in pregnant women. According to experts, about 6% of pregnant women suffer from this disease. More dangerously, 25% of pregnant women give birth prematurely due to hypertension.

What is pregnancy hypertension?

During pregnancy , cardiovascular physiological changes (such as increased heart rate, increased blood volume) force some parts of the body to increase blood vessel proliferation.

Therefore, the body of a pregnant woman requires more blood flow in certain parts of the breast, uterus, placenta, etc. This can put pressure on the blood vessel walls, causing blood pressure goes up.

However, only when the blood pressure of the pregnant mother surpasses the normal level, this condition is called gestational hypertension. In addition, high blood pressure may be related to other causes independent of the course of pregnancy.

Many cases of high blood pressure already exist before the mother becomes pregnant and get worse at the onset of pregnancy. It is even possible that the disease only occurs during pregnancy.

When the symptoms of edema and proteinuria (protein in the urine) cause a serious condition called pre-eclampsia syndrome  - eclampsia.

Manifestations of high blood pressure in pregnant women

Gestational hypertension usually occurs after 20-24 weeks of pregnancy with some of the following main symptoms:

Edema: The earliest symptom. Pregnant women feel soft skin, concave, body edema, resting not all (different from physiological edema: mild edema, usually in legs, ankles, when lying down or put feet up, edema decreases clearly);

Rapid weight gain: The volume of body fluids increases due to impaired renal function, moreover, fetal pressure causes circulatory stagnation;

Mild pre-eclampsia: When diastolic blood pressure ranges from 90 to 110 mmHg with protein in the urine (test at 0.3g / L), it is called mild pre-eclampsia;

Critical pre-eclampsia: If a woman has an increase in diastolic blood pressure of ≥ 110 mmHg and her urine protein content of about 1 g / L accompanied by headache, dizziness, or pain in the epigastric region, this is more likely to be severe eclampsia. At this time, pregnant mothers need to be taken to the emergency room in time to avoid turning into eclampsia, threatening the lives of the mother and child.

Pregnant high blood pressure is dangerous?

Most women with high blood pressure will have a normal pregnancy. But these women are at a higher risk of experiencing certain problems during pregnancy, such as:

Preeclampsia:

Women with pre-eclampsia have high blood pressure and high protein in their urine or have some other organ disease.

Pre-eclampsia usually occurs in the second half of pregnancy, and is a dangerous condition because it can affect the growth of the fetus in the mother's womb. The disease also affects the mother's liver, kidneys, blood, heart, eyes and nervous system.

Young placenta:

The placenta is the organ inside the uterus that supplies nutrients, wastes waste, and exchanges gases through the bloodstream with the mother's body. The placenta attaches and develops inside the uterus.

A premature placenta is when part or all of the placenta separates from the uterus before a baby is born. If this happens, the baby may not get enough nutrients and oxygen.

Late pregnancy:

The pregnancy may be small and not develop normally.

The consequences mentioned above are extremely dangerous. Therefore, pregnant women and their families need to recognize early symptoms of high blood pressure in pregnant women right below to be able to promptly prevent unfortunate tragedies from occurring.

Note when having high blood pressure during pregnancy

With high blood pressure pregnant women should note the following issues:

For people who have had high blood pressure in the past, before attempting to become pregnant, you should inform the treating doctor about your intention to become pregnant so that the doctor can change the blood pressure medication suitable for the pregnant woman.

The taking of blood pressure drugs should strictly comply with the prescription of the doctor, absolutely do not arbitrarily use drugs to avoid affecting the development of the fetus.

In addition to a separate diet for pregnant women, pregnant women with high blood pressure should pay attention to eating lighter, exercising regularly and controlling weight to keep blood pressure stable. In particular, alcohol and tobacco should be absolutely avoided.

Need regular, periodic exams and blood pressure measurement each visit.

When symptoms such as headache, dizziness, vision problems such as blurred vision or swelling in the face, arms and legs, rapid weight gain, severe pain in the upper abdomen should seek immediate medical attention.

During pregnancy, mothers need to supplement foods high in protein and calories, should not eat too salty but also limit salt and water. There is a need to adhere to strict treatment of diabetes or existing medical conditions.

Pregnant women with high blood pressure can rest at home if the disease is mild, watch for signs of disease when getting worse, such as increased edema, rapid weight gain, severe headache, blurred vision, liver pain, nausea, vomiting a lot of,…

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