question regarding signs of preeclampsia

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

I would like to know if you could shed some light on a question I have. I noticed on your website, that it says a pregnant woman should keep a mental note of her blood pressure throughout pregnancy and be aware if there is a 30 point increase on either the top or bottom number. I am asking because I have seen my blood pressure increase in such a manner since getting pregnant and my obgyn told me that that is an old way of thinking and of no concern. She said she'd ONLY be concerned if it were above 140/60. I would like to know what you have to say about that. Additionally, I had an ultrasound done and I have an abnormal result in the uterine artery doppler study which suggests that a woman may have an increased risk of developing maternal hypertension. I'd like to know if both these things together may be a stronger indication of possible hypertension developing and/or placental problems and if so, I'd like to know what I can do to prevent such problems from developing.

[expert@preeclampsia.org]

We no longer define preeclampsia at then end of pregnancy with a relative change in BP, eg, 60 diastolic to 75 diastolic or 100 systolic to 130 systolic. It is sometimes difficult to determine what baseline pressure to use. In addition, most that get seriously ill from preeclampsia will eventually reach 140/90. The panel that achieved this consensus for the diagnosis also stated that relative rises, particularly remote from term, shoud notbe ignored.

If you are at 26 weeks and your BP has increased from 90/60 to 120/75, I would be concerned. If Dopplers are also abnormal, I would be more concerned. You might want to know how much proteinuruia you have. 300 mg/24 hours is needed for the diagnosis of preeclampsia; but if you had 200 mg at 26 weeks, I would be concerned.