[Hypertension and pregnancy. Expert consensus statement from the French Society of Hypertension, an affiliate of the French Society of Cardiology]

Abstract

High blood pressure in pregnancy remains, by its complications, the leading cause of morbidity and maternal and fetal mortality. The frequency (5 to 10% of pregnancies) and the potential severity of this disease, both for mother and child, encourage to standardize and to optimize our medical practices. This is the main objective of this work. If the short-term complications for the mother and child are well known, long-term ones for the mother beginning to be better identified (in particular, the risk of recurrence in a subsequent pregnancy, the risk of chronic hypertension and the increased risk of cardiovascular events). The occurrence of hypertension during pregnancy disturbs the "classic" organization of care. Several health professionals are involved, the general practitioner, obstetrician, gynecologist, midwife, cardiologist, nephrologist… There is not always a care coordinator and decisions are sometimes taken with delay. These data encouraged the French Society of Hypertension to write a consensus offering easy and efficient recommendations. Educate women and all health professionals to hypertension and its management, in line with current scientific data, is one of the major challenges of this consensus.