Key result
Women with chronic hypertension had significantly higher plasma norepinephrine and a lower epinephrine/norepinephrine ratio in the first trimester compared to normal pregnant women.
Why the study?
Do plasma catecholamine levels differ between normal pregnancies and those complicated by mild chronic hypertension?
Observational
Do plasma catecholamine levels differ between normal pregnancies and those complicated by mild chronic hypertension?
Women with mild chronic hypertension exhibit altered sympathetic nervous system activity, characterized by higher norepinephrine levels, during the first trimester of pregnancy compared to normotensive women.
Does not support routine catecholamine testing in chronic hypertension; leaves open whether norepinephrine ratios predict adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine were measured throughout pregnancy in an ambulatory population of normal and untreated chronically hypertensive pregnant women. There was no significant difference between trimesters for plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, or the ratio epinephrine/norepinephrine in either the normal or chronically hypertensive group. In the first trimester of pregnancy, women with chronic hypertension demonstrated a significantly higher plasma norepinephrine and a significantly lower epinephrine/norepinephrine ratio than normal women.
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O’Shaughnessy et al. (1983) conducted an observational in Mild chronic hypertension in pregnancy. Mild chronic hypertension vs. Normal pregnancy was evaluated on Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine/norepinephrine ratio. Women with chronic hypertension had significantly higher plasma norepinephrine and a lower epinephrine/norepinephrine ratio in the first trimester compared to normal pregnant women.
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