Longitudinal changes in uterine artery Doppler and blood pressure and risk of pre‐eclampsia

Objective To investigate longitudinal changes in the uterine artery mean pulsatility index (UtA-PI) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in women who develop preeclampsia (PE) and gestational hypertension (GH). Methods This was a prospective longitudinal study of singleton pregnancies identified by screening at 11+0 to 13+6 weeks’ gestation as being at high risk for PE. Measurements of UtA-PI and MAP were taken every 4 weeks until delivery and were compared in women who developedpretermPE,requiringdeliverybefore37weeks, term PE and GH with those in women who remained normotensive. Results In the normal outcome group, UtA-PI decreased with gestational age and MAP decreased between 12 and 24 weeks and then increased. In the preterm PE group, as compared to the normal group, UtA-PI and MAP were higher from early pregnancy onward and the difference for both increased with gestational age. In the term PE group, UtA-PI was significantly increased only from 33 weeks onward and MAP was increased from 12 weeks onward but the difference from normal did not increase with gestation. In GH, UtA-PI did not differ significantly fromnormalbutMAPwashigherfrom12weeksonward. Conclusion The study describes temporal changes in UtA-PI and MAP in normal pregnancies and in women who develop PE and GH. Copyright © 2013 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.