Do drugs for mild to moderate hypertension in pregnancy do anything more than lower blood pressure?
Mild to moderate hypertension during pregnancy is common. Not surprisingly, antihypertensive drugs will often be used in the hope that they will prevent complications for mothers and babies. A new Cochrane review has found that although the woman’s blood pressure will be lowered, the drugs seem to have little effect on other outcomes of concern. The reviewers looked for all randomised trials of antihypertensive drug treatment for mild to moderate hypertension during pregnancy. They did their most recent search in October last year. Comparison of antihypertensive drugs with placebo or no drug, and comparisons between different drugs were eligible, as long as the treatment was planned to last at least a week. Twenty-four trials of an antihypertensive drug versus placebo or no drug were identified, involving a total of nearly 3000 women. There was a clear effect on the risk of developing severe hypertension. This was halved in women allocated an antihypertensive. Despite this, differences
