Target Blood Pressure Goals for Treating Hypertension in Pregnancy

With a prevalence of 10–15%, hypertension is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality and morbidity.[1-3] Pregnancyrelated hypertension has a unique pathogenesis unlike hypertension in the general population. The disease begins as a result of defective placentation, due to insufficient invasion of trophoblasts into the uterine spiral arterioles, thereby initiating a cascade of events leading to hypertension. Hypertension is just one of the manifestations of a far fetching placental disorder, which can also affect several organs such as kidneys, liver, eyes, brain, and the fetus. The extensively researched subject continues to intrigue clinicians and researchers. The etiopathogenesis has a number of theories and hypothesis involving complex humoral and immunological factors, with the core problem of vasoconstriction, endothelial dysfunction, and resulting multiorgan impairment. National High Blood pressure (BP) Education Program Working Group on High BP in pregnancy has suggested the following classification of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy:[4] • Chronic hypertension: Elevated BP in the mother that predated the pregnancy; can also be diagnosed in retrospect, when hypertension fails to normalize 12 weeks after delivery. • Preeclampsia-eclampsia: Appearance of hypertension in pregnancy accompanied by new-onset proteinuria, defined as ≥300 mg per 24 h. • Preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension • Gestational hypertension: De novo hypertension arising after mid-pregnancy and is distinguished from preeclampsia by the absence of proteinuria and severe complications related to hypertension International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy (ISSHP) Classification categorizes hypertension into two main categories as (1) hypertension known before Abstract