title: Clinical study on the factors affecting the post-partum recovery of patients with hypertensive pregnancy disorders at a Chinese hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the post-partum recovery of blood pressure (BP) in women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and to evaluate HDP risk factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 124 patients with gestational hypertension (n = 63) or pre-eclampsia (n = 61) who gave birth at Peking University People's Hospital between January and December 2013 were included in this study. The recorded clinical and laboratory parameters included the patients' general information, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index, gestational weight gain, gestational age at onset and delivery, delivery mode and time taken for BP to return to normal level. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of various risk factors on post-partum BP recovery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean interval for BP normalization was 24.1 ± 22.8 days (median, 7 days). Forty-six percent of the patients recovered from hypertension within three days, and 75% recovered within six weeks of delivery. About 90% of the patients required 60 days for BP to normalize after delivery. After adjusting for confounding factors, post-partum recovery from hypertension was found to be influenced by hypertension severity, maternal serum albumin level, a family history of hypertension and gestational week at delivery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The BP of the majority of the patients with gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia returned to normal within 60 days of delivery. Hypertension severity, maternal serum albumin level, a family history of family hypertension and gestational week at delivery influenced the time required for BP normalization.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beijing Chaoyang District Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiayuan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioinformatics, Würzberg University, Würzberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Chunfang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas School of Medicine, Kansas City, Kansas, USA.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guoli
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000503:physiopathology*; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: hypertension; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; post-partum