Quality Improvement Opportunities for Better Blood Pressure Management in Pregnancy and the Postpartum Period: The Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package

Abstract

Hypertension in pregnancy, which includes both chronic hypertension and pregnancy-associated hypertension, is on the rise in the United States and is associated with an increased incidence of maternal and neonatal complications and future cardiovascular disease. Recent clinical recommendations suggest a lower blood pressure threshold for initiating treatment of chronic hypertension in pregnancy. Here we present a new quality improvement resource for outpatient clinicians to support changes to care processes for managing chronic hypertension in pregnancy and the postpartum period.

Keywords: blood pressure; hypertension; hypertensive disorders of pregnancy; postpartum hypertension; quality improvement.