A new study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Advances reveals that women who maintain clinically normal blood pressure throughout pregnancy but do not experience a mid-pregnancy drop in their blood pressure face a significantly higher risk of developing hypertension in the five years following childbirth. While these women represent around 12% of the population studied, they may not be flagged as high-risk by current medical guidelines, suggesting the need for early intervention based on their blood pressure patterns during pregnancy.
The research, partially funded by the National Institutes of Health, followed 854 women throughout their pregnancy and up to five years postpartum. This longitudinal approach allowed researchers to track blood pressure changes during pregnancy and investigate their correlation with the development of hypertension later on.
The study’s findings highlight three distinct blood pressure patterns in pregnant women:
Consistently Low Blood Pressure (80.2%): For most women in the study, systolic blood pressure remained consistently low throughout pregnancy.
High Blood Pressure with Mid-Pregnancy Drop (7.4%): A smaller group experienced high blood pressure at the start of their pregnancy, which decreased during the second trimester before rising again.
Slightly Elevated Blood Pressure Without Mid-Pregnancy Drop (12.4%): This group had slightly elevated blood pressure that remained stable throughout pregnancy without experiencing the typical dip in the second trimester.
Interestingly, women in the third group (slightly elevated blood pressure without the mid-pregnancy dip) were found to have a 4.91 times higher risk of hypertension five years after childbirth compared to those with consistently low blood pressure. Despite remaining below the diagnostic threshold for hypertension during pregnancy, these women are at an increased risk of future cardiovascular issues, which current clinical criteria would not detect.
Impact of Blood Pressure Patterns on Future Hypertension Risk
The study revealed that women in the second group, who had high blood pressure but experienced a dip in the second trimester, also faced a heightened risk of hypertension, with a 5.44 times greater risk than those with consistently low blood pressure. This group also exhibited more instances of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension, both of which are known risk factors for later cardiovascular problems.
Shohreh Farzan, PhD, associate professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and senior author of the study, emphasized the importance of recognizing these patterns. “These women would not be identified as having higher long-term hypertension risk by any of the current clinical criteria,” Farzan said, underscoring the need for closer monitoring during pregnancy, even when blood pressure levels remain within the normal range.
Potential for Early Intervention and Future Guidelines
This study opens the door for refining clinical practices to identify women at risk of long-term hypertension earlier. By tracking blood pressure patterns throughout pregnancy, clinicians could identify women who may not show traditional risk factors but who are still at risk for hypertension later in life.
The first author of the study, Zhongzheng (Jason) Niu, PhD, also pointed out that this research could help shape future medical guidelines. “Our study could lead to early interventions that may prevent cardiovascular disease by identifying women who would otherwise go unnoticed by current screening methods,” Niu said.
The research, conducted on a cohort of 854 low-income Hispanic women from the Maternal and Developmental Risks from Environmental and Social Stressors (MADRES) cohort, builds on a growing body of knowledge about cardiovascular health in women, particularly during the critical period between pregnancy and menopause. This period, often neglected in medical research, is crucial for understanding the trajectory of women’s heart health.
The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists have recently increased their focus on women’s heart health, and findings from this study could help influence future guidelines for hypertension management in pregnancy. Clinicians might consider mapping blood pressure throughout pregnancy and offering more frequent follow-ups for women who do not experience a typical drop in blood pressure during the second trimester.
Next Steps and Future Research
The researchers are currently exploring whether environmental factors—such as air pollution, heavy metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—contribute to these altered blood pressure patterns during and after pregnancy. Future studies will be needed to replicate these findings and investigate additional risk factors that could further inform early intervention strategies for women at risk of hypertension.
This study marks a significant step forward in understanding the long-term cardiovascular risks that some women face after pregnancy, offering new opportunities for prevention and treatment in a previously underrecognized population.
You Might Be Interested In:
-
Maternal High-Fat Diets Linked to Liver Stress in Unborn Babies
-
Psychological Prehabilitation Can Significantly Enhance Recovery After Surgery
-
Could Tea During Pregnancy Give Your Baby a Brain Boost? Research Says Yes
