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Blood Pressure Variability in Pregnancy: an Opportunity to Develop Improved Prognostic and Risk Assessment Tools

  • Preeclampsia (VD Garovic, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This review discusses the mortality and morbidity of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and the current diagnostic thresholds. It then explores measurement of variability in blood pressure (BP) during pregnancy as an opportunity to identify women at high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life.

Recent Findings

HDP is known to be associated with increased risk of long-term CVD. Current CVD prognostic tools do not incorporate a history of HDP given a lack of improved risk discrimination. However, HDP diagnostic criteria are currently based on a binary threshold, and there is some evidence for the use of variability in BP throughout gestation as a marker of CVD risk.

Summary

HDP increases long-term risk of CVD. Future studies investigating changes in diagnostic criteria, including the use of BP variability, may improve long-term CVD risk prediction and be incorporated into future risk assessment tools.

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Funding

This work was supported, in part, by NIH grant, R01 HL136348.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuffield Department of Women’s & Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Jane V. Vermunt & Stephen H. Kennedy

  2. Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Jane V. Vermunt & Vesna D. Garovic

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  1. Jane V. Vermunt
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Vermunt, J.V., Kennedy, S.H. & Garovic, V.D. Blood Pressure Variability in Pregnancy: an Opportunity to Develop Improved Prognostic and Risk Assessment Tools. Curr Hypertens Rep 22, 10 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-019-1014-z

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