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Aspirin Effective in Preventing
Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a serious condition that occurs during
late pregnancy in some women. High blood pressure and rapid swelling of the face and hands
are usually the first symptoms of preeclampsia. Once preeclampsia is diagnosed, most women
must be hospitalized for monitoring in order to prevent serious complications and death
for the mother and fetus. Remarkably, a recent study has found that women who are at high
risk for developing preeclampsia may be able to prevent the development of the condition
and its related symptoms by taking aspirin.
At the 18th Scientific Meeting of the International
Society of Hypertension, Dr. Ramon Hermida of the University of Vigo, Spain, presented the
results from his study specifically designed to determine under what circumstances aspirin
could effectively prevent preeclampsia.
The study included 286 pregnant women (156 with
first-time pregnancies) and was one of the largest studies thus far in the field. The
women were told to take either placebo or aspirin according to one of the following time
schedules: on awakening, eight hours after awakening, or before bedtime. Preeclampsia was
assessed through automatic blood pressure monitoring system every 20 minutes during the
treatment.
As expected, the placebo had no effect on reducing blood
pressure (a major symptom of preeclampsia). Similarly, the morning and afternoon doses of
aspirin had very little effect on blood pressure. In contrast, the bedtime dose of aspirin
had a pronounced and statistically significant effect on reducing high blood pressure. In
addition, the aspirin had no effect on heart rate (a possible side effect). The author
concluded that 100 mg/day of aspirin at bedtime did not cause any problems during
pregnancy, and it was able to decrease blood pressure in women who were at risk for
preeclampsia. |
