Preeclampsia - Preeclampsia and you

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia and you

There is a lot more to preeclampsia than just

high blood pressure
Your blood pressure is considered to be high when it is above the accepted normal range. The usual limit for normal blood pressure is 140/90. If either the first (systolic) number is above 140 or the lower (diastolic) number is above 90, a person is considered to have high blood pressure. Doctors sometimes call high blood pressure "hypertension."

high blood pressure. In fact, preeclampsia can cause problems in virtually any part of your body. And it affects different women in different ways.

Source:
Roberts JM, Redman CWG.
Pre-eclampsia: more than pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Lancet. 1993; 341: 1447-1451.

Preeclampsia can affect you as well as your unborn baby. That's because it starts with a problem in the organ that joins you and your baby in your womb. That organ is called the placenta.

No one knows exactly how the unhealthy placenta makes you sick. But experts think that harmful chemicals from the placenta get back into your bloodstream. Then they damage the lining of your blood vessels.

Source:
Williams Obstetrics.
Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.
McGraw-Hill, New York, U.S.A.; 2005.

Because of the damage to your blood vessels, you get:

High blood pressure
proteins
A lot of your body's tissues are made out of proteins. Proteins can be made in your cells. Proteins are also part of the food you eat, particularly meat and dairy products. Your body breaks down the protein you eat into amino acids. Your cells then use these amino acids to build new proteins, which make up muscles, joints, hair and other parts of your body.

Protein leaking out of your blood vessels and into your urine
Water leaking out of your blood vessels, causing swelling in your face, hands or feet (but this doesn't always happen).

These changes in themselves don't make you sick. But they can lead to serious problems (complications), such as:

Source:
Bhattacharya S, Campbell DN.
The incidence of severe complications of pre-eclampsia.
Hypertension in Pregnancy. 2005; 24: 181-190.

Eclampsia (

seizure
A seizure is a sudden spasm of muscles caused by too much electrical activity in the brain. It results in muscle twitching and other symptoms.

seizures)
kidney
Your kidneys are organs that filter your blood to make urine. You have two of them, on either side of your abdominal cavity, toward your back.

Kidney problems
liver
Your liver is a large organ that sits on the right side of your body, just below your rib cage. It does several important things, including processing and storing nutrients from food, and breaking down chemicals, such as alcohol.

Liver damage
Lung problems
Heart problems
Eye problems
Problems with the way your blood clots, leading to heavy bleeding (

hemorrhage
Hemorrhage is a word doctors use for bleeding. Any time blood escapes from a blood vessel, it's called a hemorrhage.

hemorrhage)
stroke
You have a stroke when the blood supply to a part of your brain is cut off. This damages your brain and can cause symptoms like weakness or numbness on one side of your body. You may also find it hard to speak if you've had a stroke.

Stroke.

Fortunately, these problems are now quite rare in the United States. This is partly because the care women get during and after pregnancy helps to pick up and treat preeclampsia before it gets dangerous. It may also be because women who get pregnant in the United States are healthier than they used to be.

Sources for the information on this page:

Roberts JM, Redman CWG.Pre-eclampsia: more than pregnancy-induced hypertension.Lancet. 1993; 341: 1447-1451.

Williams Obstetrics.Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.McGraw-Hill, New York, U.S.A.; 2005.

Bhattacharya S, Campbell DN.The incidence of severe complications of pre-eclampsia.Hypertension in Pregnancy. 2005; 24: 181-190.

This information was last updated on Nov 10, 2009

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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