Adequate control of blood pressure (BP) is essential to prevent complications in pregnant women with a history of eclampsia or pre-eclampsia. However, the importance of office (OBPM), home (HBPM), and ambulatory (ABPM) BP measurements for proper control and prognosis in high-risk pregnancy is unknown. The present study aimed to compare BP values obtained during these three different BP measurements in women with a history of eclampsia or pre-eclampsia. This study included 79 pregnant women with chronic hypertension and a documented history of eclampsia or pre-eclampsia in previous pregnancy/pregnancies. Every fifth week of the study, all participants underwent ABPM, HBPM and OBPM. BP values from the 10th, 25th, and 37th weeks of pregnancy were evaluated. Therapy was intended to meet the ABPM treatment goal of <130/80 mmHg. Day, night, and 24 h ABPM systolic BP values were lower than HBPM and OBPM values at each study visit. Night and 24 h ABPM diastolic BP values were lower than HBPM and OBPM values, while day 24 h ABPM values were slightly higher than HBPM and OBPM values. ABPM provides different BP values than OBPM and HBPM. Target BP for ABPM in high-risk pregnancy hypertension should be estimated based on the predictive value of adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Keywords: ambulatory blood pressure monitoring; arterial hypertension; eclampsia; pre-eclampsia.