A Comprehensive Review of Hypertension in Pregnancy.pdfVIP

Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Pregnancy Volume 2012, Article ID 105918, 19 pages doi:10.1155/2012/105918 Review Article A Comprehensive Review of Hypertension in Pregnancy Reem Mustafa,1, 2 Sana Ahmed,1, 2 Anu Gupta,1 and Rocco C. Venuto1, 2 1 Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buff alo, Buff alo, NY 14215, USA 2 Renal Department, Erie County Medical Center, Buff alo, NY 14215, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Rocco C. Venuto, rvenuto@ Received 18 January 2012; Accepted 12 March 2012 Academic Editor: Cees B. Oudejans Copyright © 2012 Reem Mustafa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Hypertension is the most common medical disorder encountered during pregnancy. Hypertensive disorders are one of the major causes of pregnancy-related maternal deaths in the United States. We will present a comprehensive update of the literature pertinent to hypertension in pregnancy. The paper begins by defining and classifying hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. The normal vascular and renal physiological changes which occur during pregnancy are detailed. We will summarize the intriguing aspects of pathophysiology of preeclampsia, emphasizing on recent advances in this field. The existing diagnostic tools and the tests which have been proposed for screening preeclampsia are comprehensively described. We also highlight the short- and long- term implications of preeclampsia. Finally, we review the current management guidelines, goals of treatment and describe the potential risks and benefits associated with various antihypertensive drug classes. Preecl