title: Maternal arterial stiffness in normotensive pregnant women who subsequently deliver babies that are small for gestational age.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the association between maternal arterial stiffness and delivery of a baby that is small for gestational age (SGA) in normotensive pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pulse wave analyses were performed to assess maternal arterial stiffness at 26-33 weeks of gestation in 40 normotensive women who subsequently delivered SGA babies (SGA group) and 111 normotensive women who delivered babies with normal growth (control group).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Central systolic pressure (CSP), augmentation index (AIx) and AIx at a heart rate of 75 beats/min (AIx-75) were significantly higher in the SGA group compared with the control group, but this was not the case for brachial systolic pressure, brachial diastolic pressure or brachial pulse pressure. Birth weight was significantly correlated with CSP (r=-0.26, p<0.01), AIx (r=-0.33, p<0.01) and AIx-75 (r=-0.27, p<0.01), but not with brachial systolic pressure, brachial diastolic pressure or brachial pulse pressure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased arterial stiffness may be involved, in part, in the pathogenesis of SGA in normotensive women, suggesting an association between fetal growth and maternal endothelial function. Pulse wave analysis may be a clinically applicable method for assessment of maternal arterial stiffness, and may be more relevant to intrauterine fetal growth than conventional brachial blood pressure.
authors: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan. takujitom@aol.com
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Tomimatsu
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Fujime
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Kanayama
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Mimura
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Koyama
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Kanagawa
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Kimura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D001916:Brachial Artery / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age; D011247:Pregnancy; D063177:Pulse Wave Analysis; D059289:Vascular Stiffness