What is Preeclampsia?
Its most consistent symptom is high blood pressure that happens during or after your pregnancy. It’s also often characterized by a buildup of protein in the urine, which suggests that your kidneys aren’t functioning properly. Pre-eclampsia can cause changes in your liver function and blood clotting ability.
Pre-eclampsia is often referred to now as pregnancy-induced hypertension, or gestational hypertension
...Nelson Adams,MD
Pre-eclampsia can be classified as mild, moderate or severe, based on your
blood pressure measurements, explains Adams.
If not addressed, preeclampsia can lead to eclampsia, which causes seizures.
Those seizures may leave you in a coma. You can also have strokes. The
condition can be fatal.
It’s not always easy to identify the difference, but it is also possible to have hypertension, or high blood pressure, during pregnancy and not have preeclampsia.
Scientists don’t fully understand what causes preeclampsia, but they suspect it could be related to insufficient blood flow to the placenta, hormonal changes, environmental exposures, cardiac conditions or autoimmune conditions.