This Nov. 2005 file photo shows future parents awaiting the arrival of their first child in Carlsbad, Calif. When you're expecting a baby, you hope nothing goes wrong. But at least one in 20 pregnant patients develops a scary complication called preeclampsia, a high blood pressure disorder that kills 70,000 women and 500,000 babies worldwide every year. New blood tests promise to help doctors predict and manage the condition. When you're expecting a baby, you hope nothing goes wrong.
Besides high blood pressure, other signs of preeclampsia include protein in the urine, severe headaches, changes in vision, nausea and sudden swelling in your face and hands. It’s generally diagnosed by checking for protein in the urine, measuring blood pressure and following up with other tests if warranted.
The primary treatment for preeclampsia is to deliver the baby or manage the condition until the baby can be delivered. People with severe preeclampsia are usually hospitalized and may be given medicines to lower blood pressure, prevent seizures and help the fetus’ lungs develop.The tests measure “biomarkers” for preeclampsia in the blood, objective measures that show what’s happening in an organism at any given moment.
The new blood tests augment but don’t replace a doctor’s judgment, she added, “basically giving them insight that they haven’t had before. And that’s particularly useful in cases where things are in the gray zone,” such as when you have preexisting health problems such as chronic high blood pressure or obesity.Though “there’s no therapy right at the moment," Karumanchi said, doctors can closely watch those at higher risk and do more follow-ups with them.
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