The number of pregnant women with chronic high blood pressure has doubled over the past decade and a half However, treatment of high blood pressure with medication remains low High blood pressure during pregnancy can be debilitating to a woman’s health MONDAY, June 17, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The number of pregnant women with chronic high blood pressure doubled during the past decade and a half, but treatment remains low among them, a new study found. About 3.7% of pregnant women were diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2021, up from 1.
8% in 2008, researchers said. However, prescriptions handed out to pregnant women for high blood pressure remained about the same, with only 60% getting drugs that could lower their blood pressure. “While the rate of hypertension in pregnancy has doubled, the use of medication for treatment remained stable at only 60%, which we believe is likely below what it should be if patients are treated according to clinical guidelines,” said lead researcher Stephanie Leonard , an epidemiologist with Stanford University School of Medicine.
For the study, published June 17 in the journal Hypertension , researchers analyzed a database of private health insurance claims for 2007 to 2021, reviewing records for 1.9 million pregnancies during that period. They found that the frequency of high blood pressure diagnosis during pregnancy continued to rise steadily over the past decade and a half.
However, the researchers were surprised to find no spike in .
