Can High Blood Pressure In Pregnancy Lead To Preeclampsia?

Highlights

High blood pressure during pregnancy or gestational hypertension can be a problem and needs to be monitored.

Preeclampsia is a condition during pregnancy characterized by a sudden rise in blood pressure and swelling in the face, hands, and feet.

If preeclampsia is untreated, it can develop into eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition.

The exact causes of preeclampsia are not known but are likely to involve blood vessels in the placenta

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For Zahra Aliakbar, pregnancy came with a lot of trouble. Little did she know that the joy of having a child would come with so many difficulties and health issues. The onset of third trimester brought with it new pregnancy symptoms, she knew little about.

Her blood pressure was high and she developed swelling in the legs and water retention also known as edema. Her family history of hypertension and diabetes may have caused gestational hypertension.

“I had high blood pressure in my 9th month. But luckily it was not that serious”, says Zahra. “I was even admitted for a few days and kept under observation”.

High blood pressure during pregnancy or gestational hypertension can be a problem and needs to be monitored. Around 10 to 25 percent of women with gestational hypertension can progress to having a condition called preeclampsia which damages organs. High blood pressure and protein in the urine are the main reasons which cause preeclampsia.

“In my last trimester, I had a lot of swelling and water retention on my face, hands, and feet. I was on medication to lower my blood pressure till I delivered my baby. This could have led to more complications, but thankfully it did not.”

– Zahra Aliakbar

Symptoms and Complications of Preeclampsia

It is characterized by swelling in the legs and water retention, but this can be hard to distinguish from a normal pregnancy. If preeclampsia is not treated it can develop to eclampsia, in which the mother can experience seizures, go into a coma, and can even die.

Left untreated, preeclampsia can lead to serious complications for mother and the baby. Delivery of the baby is the best way to treat this condition but in some cases, it may take time for the mother to get better even after childbirth and in rare cases leads to a condition known as postpartum preeclampsia.

Swelling in feet — Swelling in the feet of a pregnant woman due to water retention

Blurry vision, sometimes seeing flashing lights, headaches, breathlessness, weight gain due to edema, vomiting, decrease in urine output are some of the symptoms to look out for if you are already having gestational hypertension.

The doctor may order blood tests, fetal ultrasound or non stress tests to check if there is decrease in platelets in the blood or impaired liver function or any restriction in fetal growth due to decreased blood supply to the placenta. Urine samples are collected over 12 hours or more, and the amount of protein is assessed to determine proteinuria. This can indicate the severity of the condition.

Causes and Cures

Though the exact causes of this condition are not known, experts say that the main reason is due to the narrowing of the blood vessels which may be caused due to a variety of reasons like damage to the blood vessels, insufficient blood flow to the uterus, immune system problems, genetic factors.

Though in most cases, delivering the baby is the best treatment, if you’re diagnosed with preeclampsia too early in your pregnancy, treatment or management protocol may include administering antihypertensive drugs, anticonvulsants and corticosteroids.

The doctor may also restrict physical activities and recommend bed rest to keep the blood pressure in control. Towards the end of pregnancy delivery may be hastened and labor is induced or a cesarean delivery is performed. Magnesium sulfate may also be given to improve uterine blood flow and prevent seizures.

Who is more at risk?

Family history, personal history of preeclampsia, women over 40 and teenagers are more likely to develop preeclampsia. Also certain conditions and illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure, migraines, kidney disease and obesity, increase the risks. If a woman is expecting two or more babies, the risk is more.

Diet modifications

“Because blood pressure affects circulation, it can affect the amount of nutrients that are reaching the baby”, says Zahra who is also a nutritionist. “Therefore it is important to eat a nutrient-rich diet.Also include plenty of healthy foods like wholegrains, fish, nuts, legumes, fruit, vegetables and dairy products and foods rich in omega 3 are particularly important if someone has preeclampsia. Also abstain from fatty foods which may result in weight gain and oily foods which may cause indigestion, bloating and acidity”.

“Apart from some underlying causes for pre-eclampsia, the inevitable urges for certain kinds of food during pregnancy like spicy, sweet, sour, very often leads us to indulge in eating less nutritious food which triggers many gestational induced disorders like weight gain, gestational diabetes, and hypertension. So it’s best to curb the cravings and make conscious efforts to eat a healthy diet high in calcium magnesium Vitamin B and Vitamin D. Take regular supplements of the same. Avoid high salt foods like pizzas, pickles, potato chips, and such other processed foods, But it’s not recommended to follow a super low salt diet which may lead to water deficiency to the growing fetus”.

Highlights

The benefits of exercises for women go way beyond weight control or weight loss.

It is important to select a workout regime that you enjoy and one that fits into your time schedule.

Exercise is important at every stage of your life, but your needs do change as you grow older.

Workout guidelines for women in their twenties, thirties, forties and sixties.

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We often tend to think of exercise as a tool for weight control or weight loss. But the benefits of exercises for women go way beyond that – from preventing osteoporosis, reducing menstrual symptoms to relieving stress and improving sleep, and improving mental health. A lifelong exercise program is the surest way to help you live and thrive into old age. To ensure that you stick to a long-term exercise plan, it is important to select a workout regime that you enjoy and one that fits into your time schedule. Exercise is important at every stage of your life, but your needs do change as you grow older.

The 20s Exercise Routine

Your body is most likely in its peak physical condition and is ready to tackle any challenge you throw its way. Your muscles will recover quickly—more so than they ever will in the years to come. So, this is the time to incorporate multiple forms of exercise in your routine – cardio, weight training, balancing workouts, and stretching.

It is recommended to do cardio at least three to five days a week. You could choose any form of cardio, be it running, swimming, cycling, or walking. This is the period of time where you can hope to find a form of cardio exercise that you enjoy—and can do properly and consistently, preferably for life. So, give a try to different types of cardio exercise so that you can decide what suits you and what you enjoy the most.

It is also recommended to do weight training at least two days a week, challenging all major muscle groups – back, chest, arms, core, shoulders, and legs. Weight training is not only important to improve body composition and build muscle, but also to increase bone density. Squats, deadlifts, standing presses, and other power lifting-type movements are workouts that you can add to your exercise routine.

The 30s Workout

Your body may no longer be at its peak, and you may start to notice that it now takes longer to recover from workouts. This is particularly an important time for women to start resistance training to offset any potential future complications from osteoporosis or arthritis. If not joining the gym, you can get some resistance bands and work with these at home.

Muscle mass and strength begin their steady decline once you turn 30 and —and that can be fixed by strength training. It is recommended to add a variety of functional lifts like presses, pulls, squats and deadlifts to your workout regime.

Cardio is recommended at least three times a week. This can be walking, jogging, cycling or yoga.

This is also a good time to invest in getting professional help or coaching for learning the right type of exercises for women. Getting your posture and techniques right when exercising and building it as a practice can be a big asset for you in the future years.

The 40s Workout

This is the time of your life when it is most important to have an exercise routine. Around this time, the muscles begin to lose mass and elasticity. This slows down your metabolism and makes it easier to gain weight. During this time women also start experiencing dropping hormone levels. This also makes it easier to gain weight, especially around the abdomen. This kind of weight increases your risk of developing health problems. These could include high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. Exercise is the best way to fight all these changes.

If you are only doing cardio exercise—which is what many of us tend to do—it’s now high time to add strength training exercises to your routine. With age, bone density tends to decline, as does strength and muscle mass, so strength training exercises are really important at this stage.

It is recommended to do strength training exercises, working for all major muscle groups each time at least twice a week. Keep up with your cardio workouts, 3 to 5 times a week.

The 50s Workout

The process of bone and muscle development starts to slow down during this time. Considering this, it is important to continue resistance training, primarily for hips and shoulders. Studies show that resistance or strength training improves bone density and tends to slow down the aging process with the loss of lean body mass.

In your 50s, you may start to experience more aches and pains on a daily basis. If you’ve been running through your last few decades, you might want to ease the wear and tear on your joints by shifting over to power walks, which can be just as effective.

It is recommended to try 30 minutes of cardio – even walking would do – at least five days a week. You can break up the 30 minutes into three 10-minute sessions if that’s easier on your joints.

During this time, you’ll also have to fight your body’s natural tendency to curve forward. Include exercise to strengthen your core by focusing on the muscles in your abdomen and your back. This will help your body stand up straighter and fight the curve.

The 60s+ Workout

This is the time when you can start focusing on preventing falls. You should incorporate balance exercises that work with coordination in your fitness regime. This helps both men and women in this age range maintain independence, strength, cognitive awareness, and improve mobility. Simple balance exercises like standing on one foot, leg raises, and walking heel to toe is highly effective.

You should try to continue cardio exercises – 30 minutes, 5 times a week. These can include minimal-impact exercises like swimming, rowing, using the elliptical machine, spinning, and stationary core exercises.

Studies show that older women who engaged in strength and resistance training had fewer lesions in the white matter of their brains—a sign that their memory and other mental functions were holding up better. You can get a lot of benefits from lifting weights twice a week.

Keep in mind that your cardiovascular levels aren’t as high as before, so give yourself ample time for recovery between exercises or sets of exercise.

People without any health issues can follow these workout patterns without many problems. But if you have a health condition, it is advisable to talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program. Your doctor can help you decide what types and amounts of physical activity are best for you and what are the right kind of exercises for women depending on their age group, physical condition and activity levels.

And at all times remember to listen to your body.

For more articles on women’s health, and fitness by Infano, click here.