Structured prenatal yoga on endothelial function in high-risk preeclampsia of pregnant women focusing on ET-1/NO ratio

Introduction: Endothelial dysfunction, marked by a high ET-1/NO ratio, plays a key role in preeclampsia. Prenatal yoga may improve endothelial function by enhancing blood flow and cardiovascular regulation Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a structured prenatal yoga program on the ET-1/NO ratio in pregnant women at high risk of developing preeclampsia. Methodology: An experimental study was carried out involving 46 pregnant women with clinical risk factors for preeclampsia, recruited between 9 and 16 weeks of gestation. Participants were randomly allocated to either a yoga intervention group (n = 23) or a control group (n = 23). All participants received standard care consisting of low-dose aspirin (80 mg/day) and calcium supplementation (1 g/day). The intervention group additionally attended 20 supervised prenatal yoga sessions over a four-week period. Serum concentrations of ET-1 and NO were measured before and after the intervention. The primary outcome was the change in the ET-1/NO ratio. Results: The yoga intervention group demonstrated a significant reduction in the ET-1/NO ratio, from 1.13 ± 0.42 to 0.94 ± 0.38 ng/mL (p = 0.010), while the control group showed a significant increase from 0.85 ± 0.29 to 1.01 ± 0.38 ng/mL (p = 0.049). Discussion: Findings suggest that prenatal yoga may enhance endothelial function in high-risk pregnancies by balancing vasoconstrictive and vasodilatory factors through stress reduction and vascular regulation. Conclusions: Prenatal yoga can be considered a promising complementary approach to improve endothelial function and potentially prevent preeclampsia in high-risk pregnant women