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A new blood test can be performed in a pregnant person’s first trimester to help assess their risk of developing preeclampsia, a potentially life-threatening pregnancy complication.
Preeclampsia is one of the leading causes of pregnancy complications. The newly approved blood test that detects it might help The post A new blood test can help diagnose preeclampsia in pregnant ...
Pre-eclampsia usually occurs after 32 weeks; however, if it occurs earlier it is associated with worse outcomes. [6] Women who have had pre-eclampsia are at increased risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke later in life. [15] [18] Further, those with pre-eclampsia may have a lower risk of breast cancer. [19]
But at least one in 20 people who are pregnant develop a scary complication called preeclampsia, a high blood pressure disorder that kills 70,000 women and 500,000 babies worldwide every year. There was no way to know when it might strike — until now. New blood tests may help doctors predict and manage this dangerous condition.
The available blood tests from the first trimester screen can test for plasma protein A and human chorionic gonadotropin. The second trimester screen looks at specific blood markers, to include the estriol, inhibin and human chorionic gonadotropin hormones and often consists of Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) screening.
The test, called PreTRM, tracks levels of two proteins in the blood that tend to rise during the second trimester in women who are at risk of delivering early. This patient’s test was negative.
Eclampsia, like pre-eclampsia, tends to occur more commonly in first pregnancies than subsequent pregnancies. [38] [39] [40] Women who have long term high blood pressure before becoming pregnant have a greater risk of pre-eclampsia. [38] [39] Patients who have gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia have an increased risk of eclampsia. [41]
Monitoring pregnant women's blood pressure can help prevent both complications and future cardiovascular diseases. [32] [33] Even though high blood pressure and related disorders during pregnancy can be serious, most women with high blood pressure and those who develop preeclampsia have successful pregnancies.