Hypertension with pregnancy: Prevalence and outcomes

Hanna, Shady Hanna Boushra; Ali Soliman, Mahmoud; Mahmoud Sultan, Ghada; Mokhtar Elkersh, Ahmed

doi:10.21608/zumj.2025.388131.3967

Hypertension with pregnancy: Prevalence and outcomes

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Cardiology Resident, Assiut General Hospital.

² Cardiology department, Menoufia University

³ Cardiology department, Menoufia university

10.21608/zumj.2025.388131.3967

Abstract

Background: Hypertension (HTN) is the most commonly encountered disorder during pregnancy. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) are vital causes of maternal morbidity and mortality around the world. This study aim was to assess the spectrum of Hypertension (HTN) among pregnant women in Upper Egypt, identify the percentage of each category of HTN and possible maternal and fetal complications according to each category.

Methods: The prevalence and outcomes of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy were estimated in this cross-sectional study of 3800 pregnant women. There were two groups: Normotensive women and hypertensive women. A structured questionnaire was used.

Results: The percentage of HTN among pregnant women was 6%. The most common categories of HTN were pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension, representing 76.6% and 16.2% of hypertensive women, respectively. The most affected group was 20-29 years old representing 70.2% of total hypertensive cases. HTN was more common in primi-gravida women representing 45.5% of total hypertensive cases.

About 86.8% of hypertensive patients underwent cesarean section. Preterm labor and abortion were the most common maternal complications representing 16% and 5.5% respectively. About 37% of babies from hypertensive mothers had complications.

There was a high significant difference regarding maternal and fetal outcome among different HTN categories as pre-eclamptic patients had the highest complications.

Conclusions: HDPs are the most common disorders during pregnancy affecting about 6% of pregnant women in Upper Egypt, with high association to maternal and fetal complications.

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