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Pulse wave analysis for the prediction of preeclampsia

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 28, pages 98–104 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Preeclampsia is associated with a number of changes to maternal vascular function. Assessment of arterial stiffness using pulse wave analysis (PWA) has been proposed as a means of predicting preeclampsia before the onset of clinically detectable disease. One hundred and eighty women with ⩾2 risk factors for preeclampsia were examined at gestational weeks 16 and 28, of whom 17 (9.4%) developed preeclampsia. To study the effects of pregnancy itself women were also examined at 6–9 months post-natally; an additional 30 healthy non-pregnant women were also examined. PWA was performed using SphygmoCor; augmentation index (AIx), a marker of arterial wave reflection, was also measured using EndoPAT-2000. Women who developed preeclampsia were more likely to be overweight and had a higher brachial and central diastolic BP at gestational week 16 than those who remained normotensive. There was no difference in any parameter of arterial wave reflection between non-pregnant and pregnant women, nor between those who developed preeclampsia and those who remained normotensive, when examined at weeks 16 and 28 or post-natally. In this cohort of women with risk factors for preeclampsia, PWA did not provide additional information beyond brachial blood pressure and maternal risk factor profile about the risk of future development of preeclampsia.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the pregnant women who participated in the study, as well as the clinic midwives and the research nursing team of the Glasgow Clinical Research Facility. The study was funded by a Strategic Research Development grant “Biomarkers for Battling Chronic Disease” from the Scottish Funding Council and a project grant (reference ETM/196) from the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government.

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  1. Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, BHF Glasgow Cardiovascular Research Centre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK

    D M Carty, U Neisius, L K Rooney, A F Dominiczak & C Delles

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  1. D M Carty
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  2. U Neisius
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  3. L K Rooney
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  4. A F Dominiczak
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Correspondence to C Delles.

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Carty, D., Neisius, U., Rooney, L. et al. Pulse wave analysis for the prediction of preeclampsia. J Hum Hypertens 28, 98–104 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.64

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