Chronic hypertension in pregnancy

Abstract

Chronic hypertension in pregnancy is defined by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) as blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg systolic and/or 90 mm Hg diastolic before pregnancy or, in recognition that many women seek medical care only once pregnant, before 20 weeks of gestation, use of antihypertensive medications before pregnancy, or persistence of hypertension for >12 weeks after delivery.1 Chronic hypertension needs to be distinguished from new-onset hypertensive complications of pregnancy such as preeclampsia (elevated blood pressure and proteinuria often accompanied by evidence of maternal organ injury and fetal compromise from placental dysfunction)2 and gestational hypertension (elevated blood pressure alone after 20 weeks of gestation and most commonly in the mid to late third trimester without evidence or history of hypertension before pregnancy; Table 1). © 2014 American Heart Association, Inc.