New Research Shows That Having High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy May Lead to Kidney Disease

A recent research study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension in February 2022, suggests that women who have high blood pressure conditions during pregnancy have an increased risk of kidney disease in the future. Women’s bodies go through many changes and new demands during pregnancy. Sometimes these changes and demands can lead to high blood pressure disorders, including preeclampsia, eclampsia, and gestational hypertension. Women who had high blood pressure before pregnancy are at an even higher risk of these disorders during pregnancy.

The goal of the study was to examine the relationships between high blood pressure disorders, high blood pressure before pregnancy, and kidney disease 3 years, 5 years, and 14 years after giving birth. The researchers studied data from over 390,000 women. The researchers found that:

Women with high blood pressure disorders during pregnancy are 50% more likely to have kidney disease
Women who had a high blood pressure disorder before pregnancy have four times the amount of risk of kidney disease
High blood pressure risk and kidney disease risk are higher for African American women than white women

Dr. Dulaney Wilson, one of the authors of the study says that the study supports the need for good prenatal care, and “Whoever is taking care of these women, they need to be aware that kidney disease, though the overall rate is still low, could be a serious problem. This is something we’d like to prevent if at all possible” (Williamson, 2022).

The first step to preventing or diagnosing high blood pressure is by monitoring blood pressure regularly. Blood pressure can be easily monitored using automatic blood pressure cuffs that can be purchased online or at your drug store. If you notice that your blood pressure readings are too high, make an appointment with your healthcare provider to discuss treatment options.