Preeclampsia, also known as toxemia, is a condition that
complicates as many as 10% of pregnancies. Typical symptoms
during pregnancy and the immediate post-partum period include
high blood pressure, protein in the urine (i.e., proteinuria),
foot, leg and hand swelling (i.e., edema), nausea, severe
headaches and abdominal pain. A dangerous variant of
preeclampsia is known as H.E.L.L.P. syndrome. A woman with
H.E.L.L.P. syndrome may have a low platelet count and elevated
liver enzymes. Women who suffer from H.E.L.L.P. syndrome may not
exhibit the primary indicators for preeclampsia, such as high
blood pressure and proteinuria. Because a pregnant woman with
H.E.L.L.P. may not have symptoms that doctors typically look
for, a woman suffering from preeclampsia may be misdiagnosed
with the flu and treatment may be delayed. Preeclampsia affects
pregnant women everywhere, including in central New York.
According to Syracuse.com, in the weeks before she gave birth by
cesarean section on August 1, 2011, Cato resident K