WASHINGTON – The number of pregnant women with high blood pressure has soared over the decades, according to a new study.
Between 1970 and 2010 high blood pressure in pregnant women has increased on average by 6-percent each year in the United States.
Hypertension during pregnancy affects black mothers at twice the rate of white mothers, according to a new study published in the Hypertension Journal Report.
Researchers are hoping this information will be a step toward figuring out why there’s such a disparity between races.
The study suggests the rise in women waiting until they are older to have children may be connected to the increase in high blood pressure which is the leading cause of maternal death in the U.S.
Researchers studied CDC records on more than 151 million women between the ages of 15 to 49 who gave birth in a hospital over 4 decades.
High blood pressure in pregnancy can lead to complications like preeclampsia, stroke, placental abruption, preterm delivery or low birth weight for the baby.
The data from this study came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Hospital Discharge Survey.
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