Preeclampsia and eclampsia are pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders. Eclampsia often follows preeclampsia, which is characterized by high blood pressure occurring in pregnancy and, rarely, postpartum. Other findings may also be present such as protein in the urine. If your preeclampsia worsens and affects your brain, causing seizures, you have developed eclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a sudden spike in blood pressure. Eclampsia is more severe and can include seizures or coma.
Eclampsia:
Symptoms:Seizures, high blood pressure
Complications:Aspiration pneumonia, cerebral hemorrhage, kidney failure, cardiac arrest
Usual onset:After 20 weeks of pregnancy
Risk factors:Pre-eclampsia
Preeclampsia can cause a host of symptoms during pregnancy. In addition to causing extreme swelling,preeclampsia can cause vision changes (you might see "floaters" or flashes of light), abdominal pain and tenderness, severe headaches, general malaise, and nausea and vomiting.
While there is no cure for preeclampsia, doctors will often prescribe medications to lower blood pressure or anticonvulsant medications to prevent seizures.
With both preeclampsia and eclampsia, the only cure is for the affected mother to give birth.Without treatment, pre-eclampsia can cause the destruction of red blood cells, elevated liver enzymes and low platelet count (HELLP syndrome) and become life-threatening. In addition, left untreated, eclampsia can cause stroke, coma and death for both the mother and baby.
The only way to stop preeclampsia entirely, though, is to have your baby. Even then, the condition may develop shortly after delivery and/or persist for up to six weeks. To keep you both healthy, your doctor may want to induce labor so you have your baby earlier than your due date.
Eclamptic seizures may be divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 lasts 15-20 seconds and begins with facial twitching. The body becomes rigid, leading to generalized muscular contractions.Phase 2 lasts about 60 seconds.
The risk of preeclampsia is higher for very young pregnant women as well as pregnant women older than 35. Race. Black women have a higher risk of developing preeclampsia than women of other races.
Psychological events such as highstress levels, anxiety or depression may directly or indirectly affect pregnancy and may thus lead to pre-eclampsia(PE). Here, we suggest that distress conditions during pregnancy may lead the development of PE by enhancing in vivo cortisol levels.
To diagnose preeclampsia, you have to have high blood pressure and one or more of the following complications after the 20th week of pregnancy:
•Protein in your urine (proteinuria):One of the first symptoms of preeclampsia is excess protein in the urine. This may lead many women to think that they must be getting too much protein in their diet and that may be causing the problem. But this is untrue. It actually means they are not getting enough protein in their diet.(When your kidney damage gets worse and large amounts of protein escape through your urine, you may notice the following symptoms: Foamy, frothy or bubbly-looking urine when you use the toilet. Swelling in your hands, feet, abdomen or face.)
•A low platelet count.
•Impaired liver function.
•Signs of kidney problems other than protein in the urine.
•Fluid in the lungs (pulmonary edema)
Eclampsia has been traditionally divided in three types: antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum. Several authors consider two more subtypes, early cases and intercurrent eclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a similar condition that develops during pregnancy and typically resolves with the birth of the baby. Most cases of postpartum preeclampsia develop within 48 hours of childbirth. However, postpartum preeclampsia sometimes develops up to six weeks or later after childbirth.
Principles of treatment of eclampsia
ANTICONVULSANT THERAPY. The aim of anticonvulsant therapy is to stop any convulsion that is present and to try and prevent any recurrence of convulsions.
BLOOD PRESSURE CONTROL.
FLUID MANAGEMENT.
INVESTIGATIONS.
DELIVERY.
POST-PARTUM MANAGEMENT.
"In the developed world, eclampsia is rare and usually treatable if appropriate intervention is promptly sought," according to the Preeclampsia Foundation. Left untreated, however, the seizures can result in coma, brain damage and potentially in maternal or infant death.
What does preeclampsia do?Preeclampsia can cause your blood pressure to rise and put you at risk of brain injury. It can impair kidney and liver function, and cause blood clotting problems, pulmonary edema (fluid on the lungs), seizures and, in severe forms or left untreated, maternal and infant death.
While preeclampsia cannot be fully prevented, there are a number of steps a woman can take to moderate some factors that contribute to high blood pressure.
•Rest, lying on your left side to take the weight of the baby off your major blood vessels.
•Increase prenatal checkups.
•Consume less salt.
•Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.
•Change your diet to include more protein.
•Research shows that exercise helps reduce the risks associated with hypertension and preeclampsia. Exercise has a protective effect and helps prevent preeclampsia.
•Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fish is associated with a lower risk of a woman developing high blood pressure, and a related condition known as pre-eclampsia.
Magnesium sulfate therapy is used to prevent seizures in women with preeclampsia. It can also help prolong a pregnancy for up to two days. This allows drugs that speed up your baby's lung development to be administered.
While women who have had preeclampsia with an earlier pregnancy have an increased risk of developing it again with subsequent pregnancies -- -- especially if it was severe the first time around -- you can take steps to reduce that risk. If you've had preeclampsia once, you are at a higher risk of developing again.
Pre-eclampsia rarely happens before the 20th week of pregnancy. Most cases occur after 24 to 26 weeks, and usually towards the end of pregnancy. Although less common, the conditioncan also develop for the first time in the first 6 weeks after birth.
In the United States, preeclampsia affects one in every 12 pregnancies or 5 to 8 percent of all births, according to the Preeclampsia Foundation.Preeclampsia can also be a scary condition because it can kill mothers and babies worldwide, and it may lead to long-term health problems..
While research findings have been mixed, some studies have found that women are more likely to develop preeclampsia when they're carrying a female foetus. On the other hand, some evidence suggests a male foetus may be more likely to experience fetal growth restriction.
Signs of Preeclampsia
High blood pressure (hypertension).
Lower back pain related to impaired liver function.
Changes in vision, usually in the form of flashing lights or inability to tolerate bright light.
Sudden weight gain of more than 4 pounds in a week.
Protein in the urine (proteinuria). ...
Shortness of breath.
Preeclampsia puts women at increased risk for heart disease as well as stroke and high blood pressure later in life.
Large population studies have demonstrated that two of three preeclampsia survivors will die of heart disease. That's news to most survivors of preeclampsia and often – sadly – to their doctors.
How is postpartum preeclampsia treated?
Blood pressure medicine to lower your pressure levels.
Anti-seizure medicine, such as magnesium sulfate, to prevent seizures (one of the most common risks of postpartum preeclampsia).
Anti-coagulant (blood thinner) medications to reduce the risk of blood clots.
A study from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found an overall preeclampsia/eclampsia case-fatality rate of 6.4 per 10,000 cases at delivery. The study also found a particularly high risk of maternal deathat 20-28 weeks' gestation.
7 Drinks for Lowering Blood Pressure
Tomato juice. Growing evidence suggests that drinking one glass of tomato juice per day may promote heart health. ...
Beet juice. ...
Prune juice. ...
Pomegranate juice. ...
Berry juice. ...
Skim milk. ...
Tea.
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