Trends in Peripartum NT-ProBNP levels in Patients with Hypertensive Gestational Syndromes: A Prospective Cohort Study

Hypertensive gestational syndromes (HGS) are increasingly prevalent as more women are delaying pregnancy. The typical high sodium, fat and carbohydrate Western diet has resulted in earlier development of obesity, diabetes, hypertension in premenopausal women. These co-morbidities further increase the number of pregnancies complicated by disorders of hypertension. The importance of screening patients for HGS is well known and treatment guidelines have been established, however there remains a paucity of data on clinical predictive and diagnostic indicators of HGS, particularly in nephrology literature. There is a need to deepen our understanding of the underlying pathophysiology in these patients. Through this understanding we can direct our focus on improving predictive and diagnostic methods of HGS in order to better serve our evolving patient population.