Evaluation of Cardiovascular Risk Markers in Hypertensive Pregnant Women

Background: In developed countries, heart disease and stroke are the major causes of death. One of the main risk factors of cardiovascular disease is dyslipidemia, and this could be due to increased lipoproteins and/or decreased plasma clearance. Pregnancy is marked with changes in metabolism in preparation for the developing fetus and lactation after delivery. Pregnancy causes long-term metabolic and vascular changes, which may raise the general risk of heart disease.

Aim: The goal of this study was to see how cardiovascular indicators changed during pregnancy in hypertensive pregnant women at Rivers State University Teaching Hospital.

Methodology: The study included 150 people who were divided into three groups: Non-pregnant hypertensive women (50), second trimester pregnant hypertensive women (50), and third trimester pregnant hypertensive women (50). After giving their consent, subjects were chosen using a simple random procedure. Total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), uric acid (UA), C-Reactive protein (CRP), apolipoprotein A1 (APoA1), and apolipoprotein B (APoB) were all measured in the lab using the venipuncture technique under fasting conditions (APoB).

Results: The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in each of the examined parameters (P<0.05) between hypertensive non-pregnant, 2nd trimester, and 3rd trimester hypertensive pregnant women, with the exception of HDL, TG, and VLDL (P>0.05).

Conclusion: This study has shown that hypertensive pregnant women are potential future candidates of cardiovascular disease.