New high BP guidelines may increase gestational hypertension detection

Washington: New high blood pressure guidelines could increase detection of gestational hypertension, finds a new study.
The clinical guidelines for hypertension were released by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2017 in non-pregnant adults in 2017.
The study was published in the journal ‘Circulation Research’.
“Timely, accurate diagnosis of gestational hypertension is crucial for preventing associated conditions for pregnant women like preeclampsia and postpartum chronic hypertension. Infants born to women with gestational hypertension are more susceptible to preterm birth and adverse long-term health outcomes like young adulthood cardiovascular diseases,” said Jie Hu, the study’s first author.
“Incorporating the 2017 ACC/AHA guidelines into prenatal care practice could improve detection of high blood pressure during pregnancy and the efforts to reduce adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes in the perinatal period that are related to gestational hypertension,” said Hu.
Hu and the international collaborative team used systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements obtained from the medical records of 16,345 women from a maternal and child health care hospital in Wuhan, China. Blood pressure measurements were recorded by obstetricians during prenatal care visits across various stages of pregnancy.