This diagnosis can be made even if the patient does not have proteinuria. Women with preeclampsia with severe features are encouraged to deliver the child after 34 weeks of gestation to minimize the risks of the severe complications.Preeclampsia can also present with seizures in the pregnant mother. In this case, the patient would be diagnosed with eclampsia.There is no proven way to prevent preeclampsia/eclampsia. Most women who develop signs of preeclampsia, however, are closely monitored to lessen or avoid related problems. The only way to "cure" preeclampsia/eclampsia is to deliver or abort the baby. Eclampsia
Eclampsia is one particularly concerning form of preeclampsia in which a pregnant woman who previously presented with signs of newly increased blood pressure begins to experience new generalized seizures or coma. Up to 70% of patients with eclampsia experience complications associated with pregnancy. These complications can include HELLP syndrome, acute kidney injury, and disseminated intravascular coagulation among others. HELLP Syndrome
HELLP Syndrome is a type of preeclampsia with severe features that involves increased hemolysis, increased liver enzymes, and low platelet levels. While most women with HELLP syndrome have high blood pressure and proteinuria, up to 20% of HELLP syndrome cases do not present with these classical signs of preeclampsia. However, like pre-eclampsia, HELLP syndrome can also lead to low birth weight and premature birth of the fetus/neonate. HELLP syndrome has a fetal/neonatal mortality rate of 7-20%.
Treatment should be continued from the time of diagnosis to several weeks postpartum given the increased risk of medical complications immediately following delivery of the fetus. Prognosis
The effects of high blood pressure during pregnancy vary depending on the disorder and other factors. Preeclampsia does not in general increase a womans risk for developing chronic hypertension or other heart-related problems. Women with normal blood pressure who develop preeclampsia after the 20th week of their first pregnancy, short-term complications, including increased blood pressure, usually go away within about six weeks after delivery.Some women, however, may be more likely to develop high blood pressure or other heart disease later in life. More research is needed to determine the long-term health effects of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and to develop better methods for identifying, diagnosing, and treating women at risk for these conditions.Even though high blood pressure and related disorders during pregnancy can be serious, most women with high blood pressure and those who develop preeclampsia have successful pregnancies. Obtaining early and regular prenatal care for pregnant women is important to identify and treat blood pressure disorders. Epidemiology
High blood pressure problems occur in six percent to eight percent of all pregnancies in the U.S., about 70 percent of which are first-time pregnancies. In 1998, more than 146,320 cases of preeclampsia alone were diagnosed.Although the proportion of pregnancies with gestational hypertension and eclampsia has remained about the same in the U.S. over the past decade, the rate of preeclampsia has increased by nearly one-third.