Cerebral autoregulation in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:: To test the hypothesis that preeclampsia is associated with impaired dynamic cerebral autoregulation. METHODS:: In a prospective cohort analysis, cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery (determined by transcranial Doppler), blood pressure (determined by noninvasive arterial volume clamping), and end-tidal carbon dioxide were simultaneously collected during a 7-minute period of rest. The autoregulation index was calculated. Values of 0 and 9 indicated absent and perfect autoregulation, respectively. Student t test was used, with P