High blood pressure in pregnancy raises risk

LONDON - Women who suffer from high blood pressure during pregnancy may have an increased long-term risk of developing heart disease, doctors warn.

Although their blood pressure returns to normal after the birth, they are more likely than other women to have a heart attack or stroke 20, 30 or 40 years later.

"Women who have raised blood pressure during pregnancy have a two to three times increased risk of developing hypertension in later life," said Professor Cairns Smith of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

"They also have about three times the risk of having a stroke and just under twice the risk of having heart disease."

About 10 per cent of pregnancies are complicated by raised blood pressure. It is more common in first pregnancies.

"Women should bear in mind that they may be at increased risk of hypertension later in life and that their doctors need to be aware of it," Professor Smith said.

He and his colleagues discovered the link by studying women who had lived in Aberdeen between 1951 and 1970 during their first pregnancies. Their research is reported in the British Medical Journal.

The women, who were divided into three groups, answered a questionnaire and had a medical examination. One group had normal blood pressure during their first pregnancy while another had high blood pressure.

The third group suffered from pre-clampsia or eclampsia, complications in pregnancy marked by high blood pressure and protein in urine.

Professor Smith and his colleagues hope the research will raise awareness of the problem.

"Treatment for hypertension is very effective in reducing the risk of stroke."

- REUTERS