What does the physician in case of a high blood pressure already existing before the pregnancy?
The majority of women who have high blood pressure before the pregnancy will slightly increase the value of their blood pressure and the cardiovascular risk is thus weak. In general, the blood pressure will naturally decrease during the second quarter of the pregnancy, because of a expansion of the peripheral arteries. Thus, the antihypertensive drug therapy can be stopped on this occasion, under strict medical supervision. When the diastolic blood pressure (the minimal one) drops below 90 millimetres of mercury (9), the antihypertensive drug therapy can be reduced. In this case, no medical study has proved the real effectiveness of an antihypertensive drug therapy on the cardiovascular complications. To avoid high blood pressure, it is of primary importance to respect life style modifications: that is, the reduction of sodium intake and of high calorie meals. On the other hand, it is not recommended during this period to lose weight or to practise physical exercise. The practice of se
