BP Fluctuations - Why?

[mrsright41401]

Why does blood pressure fluctuate up and down. My wife's blood pressure dropped through the floor after she was given a shot of steroids to help the baby's lungs mature and stayed down for quite a long time. However, it goes back up. Why does it do this and does it mean she's not really in that much danger of Pre-e?

Ben - Rachel's husband

[laura]

Hi Ben, actually the BP fluctuations are called labile blood pressure, and labile blood pressure is a symptom of preeclampsia. The fluctuations sometimes mean that at some point they're going to go up, and stay up.

here's what one of the experts had to say about it:

BP should be taken several times, not just once. All BP's should be considered. The early phase of hypertension, (pregnant and nonpregnant), is characterized by a very labile phase where BP is not regulated well. The range between highs and lows becomes pronounced.
http://www.preeclampsia.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=321

hope this helps!



Laura-28
DH Jack-30
Allie 5-13-98 (35 weeks-pre-e)
Baby Camille 4-17-03 (36 weeks- htn and oligo)
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/c/camilleandallie/

[annegarrett]

Not a doctor but I have an autoimmune disorder and I know that they recommend steroids to calm the "inflammation" of my system due to the autoimmune disorder. There is a theory that preeclampsia in some women is the result of an inflammatory response (which would explain why women with autoimmune disorders, cancer, serious illness, bad infections, etc... have a higher risk of getting preeclampsia) and so it might suggest that the steroid for the baby's lungs also acted to soothe her irritated inflammatory system and calmed the BP temporarily.

Laura is quite right about the lability of blood pressure--it is not a good sign.

Given that her doctor's are planning to deliver--it appears that they are aware she has serious preeclampsia and are treating it with great care. This is very good news and even if her BP were to go down somewhat--you can likely count on it coming back up so it is good that she is being watched so carefully.

Take care,



Anne Garrett
Executive Director
Preeclampsia Foundation

[catherine]

Hi Ben, I've read in a couple of places about limited use of steroids to treat women with preeclampsia. In fact, the reason for this was that the steroid that the Drs gave to enhance the baby's lung development might also help the mom hold off her preeclampsia. The outcome of the study was that such that they didn't recommend it as a treatment because it didn't prevent or halt preeclampsia but that it could improve lab values and maybe BP. That may be why Rachel's bp was a bit better for a while. Good luck for the next four days, just keep watching out for the funky symptoms (visual disturbance, headache from h*LL, acute abdominal pain). Soon this misery will be over and the baby will be here in time for the holidays! We're all thinking of you guys...

Catherine (37)
DH, Dave (40)
Finn (6)
Lucy (2)
Chloe (7/2/03)