Symptoms of Hypertension in Pregnant Women

Written by Zhang Lu
Obstetrics
Updated on September 02, 2024
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During pregnancy, if a pregnant woman develops high blood pressure, initially there are no symptoms, because at the beginning the blood pressure just slightly exceeds 140/90mmHg. If the high blood pressure is only temporary, it generally does not affect the woman's body and therefore, she may not experience any symptoms. As the condition progresses, the symptoms of high blood pressure can cause physical harm to the woman, likely damaging the kidneys and causing proteinuria. The loss of protein can lead to edema in women, and as a result, many women's initial symptoms will appear as generalized swelling, which does not improve with rest. By measuring blood pressure and urinary protein, symptoms of hypertension in pregnant women can be detected. In the later stages of the disease, hypertension may sometimes be accompanied by dizziness, indigestion, and mild pain in the lower abdomen, which are all symptoms of hypertension in pregnant women.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
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How to lower high blood pressure

Patients with hypertension need to adopt a comprehensive approach to reduce their blood pressure, primarily comprising two aspects: On one hand, they should regulate their lifestyle for treatment purposes, which includes maintaining a long-term low-salt and low-oil diet, consuming more vegetables and fruits, regularly engaging in physical exercises and labor, keeping a healthy weight level, avoiding fatigue, not staying up late at night, and maintaining a good emotional state. On the other hand, suitable antihypertensive medications should be chosen based on the specific conditions of the patients and used long-term. If necessary, a combination of antihypertensive drugs may be required. Effective control of blood pressure can only be achieved by combining lifestyle adjustments with medication.

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Written by Chen Tian Hua
Cardiology
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Can high blood pressure be hereditary?

Hypertension has a certain level of heritability, and research indicates that if parents have hypertension, their children’s risk of developing this condition significantly increases. Of course, genetic factors are only one of the reasons for the development of hypertension. The presence of genetic factors does not necessarily lead to hypertension; postnatal environmental factors are also very important. Maintaining good lifestyle habits over time, including healthy dietary habits, regular physical exercise, reasonable weight control, and a positive mindset can help prevent hypertension. Moreover, even without a family history of hypertension, poor lifestyle habits can still lead to the development of the condition.

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Written by Tang Li
Cardiology
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Hypertensive crisis blood pressure values

At any stage of hypertension development and other disease emergencies, severe life-threatening blood pressure increases can occur, requiring emergency treatment. Hypertensive crises include hypertensive emergencies and hypertensive urgencies. Hypertensive emergencies refer to severe blood pressure increases within a short time—hours or days—with diastolic pressure greater than 130 mmHg and/or systolic pressure greater than 180 mmHg, accompanied by severe dysfunction or irreversible damage to critical organs and tissues such as the heart, brain, kidneys, retina, and major arteries. Hypertensive urgencies may present as increased blood pressure but without obvious target organ damage.

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Written by Li Liu Sheng
Nephrology
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How is hypertensive nephropathy treated?

Long-term hypertension can lead to abnormal kidney structure and function, also known as hypertensive nephropathy. Once hypertensive nephropathy is diagnosed, comprehensive treatment measures are often adopted, including both pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments. In terms of non-pharmacological treatment, patients should maintain a low-salt diet in their daily life, focusing on a light diet, with a daily salt intake of about 4 grams. Regarding pharmacological treatment, the main goal is to control the patient's blood pressure and reduce urinary protein. Medications that can be used include angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor antagonists. Any of these medications can be chosen and used long-term to control blood pressure, protect kidney function, and reduce urinary protein. (Medications should be used under the guidance of a physician, and self-medication should be avoided.)

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Written by Zhou Qi
Nephrology
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The difference between hypertensive nephropathy and renal hypertension

Hypertensive nephropathy and hypertension due to kidney disease need to be differentiated, as this affects the treatment approach and prognosis assessment differently. Hypertensive nephropathy refers to patients with long-term high blood pressure, which causes arteriosclerosis of small vessels leading to renal pathology. Often, there is also arteriosclerosis in other organs, such as the retinal arteries, which can be confirmed through funduscopic examination. On the other hand, hypertension due to kidney disease occurs when a patient has kidney disease first followed by hypertension, where the causes and types of kidney diseases vary and can frequently lead to hypertension. The difference between the two lies in the sequence of occurrence. Hypertensive nephropathy is characterized by initial high blood pressure and commonly associated with arteriosclerosis in other vessels, which can be preliminarily identified through funduscopic examination. In cases of hypertension due to kidney disease, the patient has other kidney disorders first, followed by hypertension. If a patient's 24-hour urine protein quantification exceeds 2g, it is likely due to kidney disease rather than hypertensive nephropathy. If differentiation remains challenging, kidney biopsy can be performed for further differentiation.