High blood pressure and pregnancy

Women who have high blood pressure in pregnancy are more likely to develop coronary artery disease later in life.
"Usually it is assumed that the development of high blood pressure during pregnancy has no long-term consequences, since it subsides after pregnancy," said Dr. Michiel L. Bots, the senior author of the study, and an associate professor of epidemiology at the Julius Center for health Sciences and Primary Care in the Netherlands.

The study found pregnancy-driven high blood pressure caused a 57 percent greater risk of developing coronary calcification later in life, than women who had normal blood pressure during their pregnancy. The calcium deposition in the arteries of the heart causes what's called atherosclerosis, or the process by which fatty substances like cholesterol, build up in the inner lining of an artery.

Researchers looked at 491 healthy, post-menopausal women who were selected from among participants enrolled in a study called PROSPECT.

Bots says that women who develop high blood pressure during pregnancy may need to be referred to a program that includes cardiovascular risk factor management and close monitoring for increases in blood pressure, cholesterol and weight.

Source: http://www.9news.com