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When blood pressure soars
This is a condition unique to pregnancy – it was called ‘toxaemia of pregnancy’ in the past – and the disease doesn’t usually occur before the sixth month of pregnancy or later. Up to 1 in 10 women suffers from pre-eclampsia, but the severity can vary from ‘nothing to worry about’ to ‘serious concern’ about the mother and baby, so a more reassuring statistic shows that only 1 in 100 women will have the disease severely.
Pregnant women are quite often admitted to the antenatal ward with high blood pressure (hypertension) – and the level of concern at this stage will depend on what is causing the hypertension – and how high the blood pressure is, of course.
Measuring blood pressure levels:
- A blood pressure greater than 140/90 in pregnancy is considered to be raised.
- Very high blood pressure would be greater than 170/110
measuring blood pressure.
It does seem that some women develop hypertension only when they are pregnant, but this usually resolves itself after delivery. This is called Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH). Hypertension can be one of the signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia and, unless it is very high, a woman will not be aware that her blood pressure has increased, because she will have no symptoms.
What are the other symptoms and signs of pre-eclampsia?
- High blood pressure – Protein in the urine (Proteinuria) – because the kidneys have been affected by the disease, and protein ‘leaks’ away in the urine.
- Sudden or severe swelling (Oedema) affecting feet, hands or even the face. Some swelling in the feet is normal in pregnancy. This usually appears at the end of the day, and settles after a night’s bed rest. The swelling of pre-eclampsia is often associated with
- Excessive weight gain
- Severe headache and/or dizziness
- Visual disturbances – seeing ‘spots’ or ‘flashing lights’
- Pain in the right, upper abdomen – which may indicate liver involvement
- Vomiting late in pregnancy.
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