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Analysis of blood pressure waveform: a new method for the classification of hypertensive pregnancy disorders

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 18, pages 135–137 (2004)Cite this article

Dear Sir,

In pregnancies with hypertensive disorders, the blood pressure and vascular resistance are increased, blood volume is smaller, and blood pressure and heart rate responses to various provocations are changed compared to those of normotensive pregnant women.1,2 In the pathogenesis of hypertensive disorders in pregnancies, especially in pre-eclampsia, the shallow endovascular cytotrophoblast invasion in the spiral arteries3 and the following systemic endothelial cell dysfunction of pregnant women are two key features.4,5 The precise classification of distinct hypertensive pregnancy disorders is very often difficult in clinical practice due to methodological limitations. Heart rate variability (HRV) and blood pressure variability (BPV) are useful tools to differentiate between different cardiovascular disorders and predict mortality of those patients.6,7 To evaluate HRV and BPV as potential diagnostic tools for different hypertensive pregnancy disorders, we initiated a pilot study to determine whether these variability parameters can distinguish between pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and pre-eclampsia (PE).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Leipzig, Germany

    R Faber & H Stepan

  2. Faculty of Medical Engineering, University of Applied Sciences, Jena, Germany

    M Baumert & A Voss

  3. Department of Cardiology, UKBF, Free University Berlin, Germany

    T Walther

Authors
  1. R Faber
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  2. H Stepan
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  3. M Baumert
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  4. A Voss
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  5. T Walther
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Correspondence to R Faber.

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Faber, R., Stepan, H., Baumert, M. et al. Analysis of blood pressure waveform: a new method for the classification of hypertensive pregnancy disorders. J Hum Hypertens 18, 135–137 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jhh.1001652

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