The maternal 24-h blood pressure (BP) profile as a predictor of fetal distress.
No mention is made of any aspect of BP bioperiodicity, among current clinical criteria for diagnosing pregnancy-related hypertension. The abnormal BP, based on a single unqualified measurement, is accepted and utilized as a clinical feature to identify pregnancy at risk. Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure were measured every 15 min for 24 h in 5 women (2 non pregnant clinically healthy subjects, 1 clinically healthy subject in her third trimester of pregnancy, 1 presenting mild and 1 severe toxiemia, also in their third trimester of pregnancy) by an automated BP recording apparatus (Dynamap). All variables, analyzed by the single cosinor method, exhibited statistically significant circadian rhythms. A high amplitude could nullify the time-unqualified usual range. The change in circadian amplitude precedes an overt mesor hypertension and constitutes a tool for earlier detection of fetal distress.
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D005316:Fetal Distress / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy