Variability of arterial blood pressure in normal and hypertensive pregnancy.
In normal pregnancy the circadian blood pressure rhythm is similar to that in the non-pregnant state, with the highest blood pressure values in the morning and the lowest at midnight. This rhythm is lost in patients with pre-eclampsia. Women with severe pre-eclampsia show a reversed circadian rhythm, with a nocturnal increase in blood pressure during the sleeping phase. Although the reasons for this nocturnal hypertension in severe pre-eclampsia are poorly understood, the results suggest that pre-eclamptic women are endangered by hypertensive emergencies, mostly at night. Therefore blood pressure measurement should be extended to the night, and antihypertensive treatment must be adapted to the demands of a reversed circadian rhythm in relevant subgroups of patients.
Oney
T
T
Department of Obstetrics, Free University of Berlin, Germany.
Meyer-Sabellek
W
W
D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination / Q000379:methods; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology