preeclampsia and high hcg levels

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

Hi,
I've been reading the forum now for a while, I read somewhere the other day that high Hcg levels could be associated with preeclampsia, and that really caught my attention b/c the pregnancy I had HELLP was the only pregnancy with extremely high Hcg. My question to you is: Is high hcg levels really associated with preeclampsia/Hellp? If yes based on what?
Thank,

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

There is a consistent relationship between elevated hCG in the midtrimester and the subsequent development of preeclampsia. Unfortunately, the association is not so strong as to use hCG as a screeing test.