What is difference between Preeclampsia, Toxemia, PET, and PIH?
Preeclampsia, Toxemia, PIH, PET, as well as ephegesis gestosis refer to serious, closely related hypertensive conditions of pregnancy. Toxemia is an older term based on a belief that the condition was the result of toxins (poisons) in the blood. PET (preeclamptic toxaemia) is a term used by older physicians in the UK and elsewhere. Ephegesis gestosis, rarely used in the U.S., is a term that is generally synonymous with preeclampsia. PIH, a newer term, stands for Pregnancy Induced Hypertension. The Preeclampsia Foundation uses the term “preeclampsia” as an umbrella term to cover all variants of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Researchers will be more specific and refer to each subset of the syndrome as separate entities. While to the medical researcher these terms may have subtle differences, they all represent serious conditions that you should not ignore.
