Zohar Thelander

High blood pressure, for anyone, involves a reading of at least 140/90 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg).

Three types of high blood pressure can occur during pregnancy:

What is a healthy blood pressure during pregnancy?

A person with chronic hypertension either had high blood pressure before pregnancy or developed it before week 20, in about the first half of pregnancy.

This type of high blood pressure starts during pregnancy, usually in the second half, or after 20 weeks.

A doctor diagnoses it if systolic pressure is at least 140 mm Hg, diastolic pressure is at least 90 mm Hg, or both.

The person will also have:

While the rise in blood pressure is usually small, a healthcare professional will likely monitor it every week. If a person’s blood pressure reaches 160/110 mm Hg or higher, serious complications can result.

Gestational hypertension usually goes away after delivery, but it can persist and either become chronic or increase the risk of chronic hypertension later in life.

Preeclampsia involves high blood pressure that occurs during pregnancy or after delivery. It can have severe effects.

This condition usually develops after week 20, often in the third trimester. If it happens before week 34, doctors call it early onset preeclampsia. It may develop in the weeks after delivery, but this is rare.

Experts do not know why some people develop preeclampsia and others do not. The risk may be higher for people who:

To diagnose preeclampsia, a doctor will:

Some people have no symptoms. If symptoms occur, they include:

People with preeclampsia have a higher risk of a rare but serious medical condition known as HELLP syndrome, which stands for:

Anyone with HELLP needs urgent medical attention.

To reduce the risk of severe complications, a person with preeclampsia may need to deliver early. This can lead to a low birth weight and other health problems for the newborn.

There may also be an increased risk of stroke, kidney disease, heart disease, and hypertension later in life.

Sometimes, preeclampsia is severe enough to cause seizures or a coma due to effects on the brain. In this case, the diagnosis is “eclampsia.” It can occur during pregnancy or within 72 hours after delivery, and it is a medical emergency.

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