title: Changes in blood pressure during healthy pregnancy:  a longitudinal cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study longitudinally changes in blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) during healthy pregnancies and to evaluate the influence of parity, pregestational overweight, and excessive weight gain.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective longitudinal cohort study of 57 healthy white women with singleton pregnancies. BP and HR were measured repeatedly at gestational age 14-16 weeks, 22-24 weeks, 30-32 weeks, 36 weeks, and 6 months postpartum using both an oscillometric measurement device (Dinamap) and finger arterial pressure (Finometer PRO).
  
  
  RESULTS
  SBP, DBP, and mean arterial pressure (MAP) reached a statistically significant trough at gestational age 22-24 weeks using both measurement devices. When compared with the nonpregnant measurement, SBP at gestational age 22-24 weeks was 6.2 mmHg [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.3-11.2] lower measured by Finometer and 7.2 mmHg (95% CI 4.2-10.1) lower measured by Dinamap. DBP and MAP were 8.9 mmHg (95% CI 4.6-13.2) and 9.8 mmHg (95% CI 5.3-14.2) lower measured by Finometer. Measured by Dinamap, DBP and MAP were 4.5 mmHg (95% CI 1.7-7.3) and 5.4 mmHg (95% CI 2.8-7.9) lower at gestational age 22-24 weeks when compared with the nonpregnant state. SBP was significantly higher in women with pregestational BMI at least 25 kg/m with both measurement devices (both P < 0.05). There were no differences in SBP, DBP, or MAP depending on parity or excessive weight gain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  BP measured repeatedly by two different noninvasive devices during pregnancy and postpartum showed a statistically significant drop in mid-pregnancy, followed by a progressive increase until term.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Emergencies and Critical Care Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet, Postboks 4950 Nydalen, N-0424 Oslo, Norway. Guro.Grindheim@oslo-universitetssykehus.no
authors.forename: Guro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grindheim
authors.forename: Mette-Elise
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Estensen
authors.forename: Eldrid
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Langesaeter
authors.forename: Leiv Arne
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Rosseland
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toska
mesh_terms: D001794:Blood Pressure; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values