Open AccessArterial Stiffness and Wave Reflection 1 Year After a Pregnancy Complicated by Hypertension
Author(s) -
Ehrenthal Deborah B.,
Goldstein Neal D.,
Wu Pan,
Rogers Stephanie,
Townsend Raymond R.,
Edwards David G.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the journal of clinical hypertension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1751-7176
pISSN - 1524-6175
DOI - 10.1111/jch.12398
Subject(s) - medicine , arterial stiffness , pulse wave velocity , applanation tonometry , cardiology , blood pressure , preeclampsia , pregnancy , prospective cohort study , endothelial dysfunction , biology , genetics
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy ( HDP ) are associated with cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) later in life. The authors investigated the association of HDP with blood pressure ( BP ) and arterial stiffness 1‐year postpartum. Seventy‐four participants, 33 with an HDP and 41 with uncomplicated pregnancies, were examined using applanation tonometry to measure BP , carotid‐femoral pulse wave velocity (cf PWV ), and augmentation index ( AI x). On average, women with HDP had a 9 mm higher systolic BP ( P <.01), 0.8 m/s faster cf PWV ( P =.09), and 5.4% greater AI x ( P =.09) at the 1‐year examination. After adjustment for covariates, there was no significant difference in cf PWV between groups, while a 7.3% greater AI x ( P <.05) remained. These findings suggest that reduced endothelial function may be detected 1 year after HDP . Large prospective studies are needed to further understand the contribution of arterial stiffness and endothelial dysfunction in the evolution of CVD after these complicated pregnancies.