There have been many articles written about the danger of high blood pressure in pregnant women and although my article may not present an entirely new concept I still hope that this article of mine will be able to help in providing further awareness especially among expecting mothers on the danger brought about by high blood pressure.
The first thing that we ought to know is what exactly is high blood pressure? High blood pressure is termed for blood pressure readings that are greater than 140mm Hg systolic over 90 mm Hg diastolic or 140/90. High blood pressure is also known as hypertension and contributes to the development of coronary heart disease, stroke, and heart failure as well as kidney diseases. Although there have been little known effects on the babies of pregnant mothers with hypertension however the fact still remains that hypertension can be dangerous for both the mother as well as the fetus. Pregnant women especially those with pre-existing or chronic high blood pressure are more likely to experience complications during the duration of their pregnancy compared to those pregnant women with normal blood pressure. However, there are some cases wherein some women develop high blood pressure while they are pregnant and this kind of high blood pressure is called gestational hypertension.
In addition, high blood pressure among pregnant women may range from mild to severe. Severe high blood pressure tends to harm the mother’s kidneys as well as the other organs and may result to low birth weight and even early delivery. Aside from that, oftentimes mother with severe high blood pressure develops preeclampsia or toxemia of pregnancy and may endanger the lives of both the mother as well as the fetus. This condition usually starts on the 20th week of the pregnancy and is well known to increase with blood pressure and increase protein in the mother’s urine. Preeclampsia may affect the mother’s kidney, liver and even the brain. Preeclampsia that cause seizures are known as eclampsia and is the second leading cause of maternal death. Aside from that, preeclampsia is also known to cause fetal complications such as low birth weight, premature birth and stillbirth.
Furthermore, there are still no proven methods of preventing preeclampsia. On the other hand, the only known way of curing preeclampsia is for the mother to finally deliver the baby. Preeclampsia is more dominant in older expectant mothers and for mothers of multiple births.
What we need to know about blood pressure?
Blood pressure becomes a big deal especially when one is getting old. However, just what is blood pressure? Blood pressure is the force of the blood pushing against the walls of the arteries. Did you know that each time your heart beats about 60-70 times a minute it pumps out blood into the arteries, which is much well known as the systolic pressure. Furthermore, when the heart is at rest between beats your blood pressure falls, which is generally known as the diastolic pressure. Blood pressure is always read in two numbers and these are the systolic and diastolic pressures. A blood pressure reading is not complete without either of the two. The systolic pressure is the first written on the top or the top number while the diastolic pressure is the second number or the bottom number an example of which is a blood pressure reading of 120/80, or it may also be read as 120 over 80. Every person has different blood pressure to some a blood pressure that is 120/80 may mean normal while to others this same blood pressure may already mean high blood pressure to them.
How to measure blood pressure
Measuring blood pressure is a painless and simple procedure that most of us have taken at some point of our lives. Moreover, the information derived from such simple procedure provides us with useful information regarding the condition of our heart as well as the condition of our blood vessels. You might be wondering by now how your blood pressure was measured. In measuring your blood pressure your doctor have told you that your blood pressure let us just say for example is 120/80. The 120 represents the systolic or the maximum pressure in an artery at the moment when your heart is beating and pumping blood through the body while the 80 represents the diastolic which is the lowest pressure in an artery in moments between beats when the heart is resting. Both the systolic as well as the diastolic plays a vital role in measuring your blood pressure since a raise in either of the two will signify that you have high blood pressure or hypertension. Measuring the blood pressure also requires certain steps to follow.
