title: Pregnancy may aggravate arterial hypertension in women with Takayasu arteritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Takayasu arteritis (TA) is a rare chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease of the aorta and/or its major branches and more frequently affects female patients before menopause. Since persistent inflammation may lead to arterial ischemia, hypertension is an important complication of TA.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate gestational results and complications in patients with TA.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a retrospective analysis of the medical records of patients with TA admitted to the high risk pregnancy clinic for women with systemic autoimmune diseases at Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto.
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 1998 to 2011 we followed 11 pregnancies in 9 patients with TA; the patients' age ranged from 17 to 42 years and disease duration from 2 to 28 years. In 7 of the 11 pregnancies, uncontrolled blood pressure occurred before labor and preeclampsia was diagnosed in one. Two deliveries were preterm, one newborn was treated for sepsis, and four (36%) had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Close monitoring improves the perinatal outcomes in patients with TA who are more prone to develop hypertension, preeclampsia and IUGR. Disease activity was not observed in our group of patients during pregnancy. Coordinated care between the obstetric, rheumatologic and cardiologic teams is the ideal setting to follow pregnant women with TA.
authors: Department of Obstetrics, Hospital Universitário Pedro Ernesto, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. guilhermedejesus@gmail.com
authors: Guilherme R
authors: GR
authors: de Jesús
authors: Isabelle C C
authors: IC
authors: d'Oliveira
authors: Flávia Cunha
authors: FC
authors: dos Santos
authors: Gustavo
authors: G
authors: Rodrigues
authors: Evandro M
authors: EM
authors: Klumb
authors: Nilson R
authors: NR
authors: de Jesús
authors: Roger A
authors: RA
authors: Levy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013625:Takayasu Arteritis / Q000150:complications*; D055815:Young Adult