should a chronic hypertensive stop her meds?

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

I am 7 weeks pregnant so I had stopped taking my blood pressure meds about 4 weeks ago. I changed primary care physicians after my phone calls were not answered. The new primary doctor said my hugh blood pressure is because I have preeclampsia. I did mention again that I have not had ANY medication for 4 weeks and that I had been taking Verapamil before finding out I was pregnant.

I have an appointment to see the OB next week but my new primary care really scared me even indicated that I should end the pregnancy. He prescribed Methyldopa.

Is hid diagnosis correct?

I know the print out he gave me says diagnosed around 20 weeks and had this website listed.

what happend if you had high blood pressure before you were pregnant? I am confused and scared.

what can you tell me about high blood pressure patients and pregnancy.

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

Verapamil is safe in pregnancy and for the breast feeding mother, having not been shown to cause birth defects above background risk nor newborn problems while breastfeeding.

In general a mother with chronic hypertension on medication is well advised to be evaluated by her obstetrician as early as possible during pregnancy, so that she can be evaluated medically (collect a 24 hour urine to determine the presence and amount of proteinuria, for instance) and a determination made to continue or change medications.

ACE inhibitors are usually stopped because of fetal risks; calcium antagonists like Verapamil can be continued. If a diuretic is needed to help an antihypertensive drug work best in a mother with fairly longstanding and significant hypertension, it can be continued--furosemide is usually preferable to hydrochlorthiazide--and the lowest effective and required dose is usually used. In many practices, the use of Aldomet has just about disappeared since it is a very weak agent (that's why it almost never is used in a nonpregnant female or a male patient). Calcium antagonists have been more frequently utilized in my pregnant patient population since once a day dosing is possible and they are more efficacious than Aldomet.

If antihypertensive therapy is stopped altogether in early pregnancy because blood pressures are "normal", this can change at a later time and should be revisited at each prenatal encounter.