Clinical Research
Clinical Research Papers
Brachail Artery Compliance Decreases During Pregancy
EB Grossman*, TJ Brinton*, D Cunningham,
ED Walls, S Heminger, and SS Chio. University of Rochester.
Rochester, NY, and Pulse Metric, Inc., San Diego, CA.
Arterial
compliance (ArtC) may be altered by long-standing hypertension,
atherosclerosis, antihypertensive therapy, and genetic
predisposition. Pregnancy is a state of great hemodynamic flux,
with increased blood volume and changing blood pressure (BP). A
recent invasive study (Pappos et al. Circulation, 1997)
demonstrated that ArtC is higher during pregnancy than following
delivery, but no variation in ArtC was noted during pregnancy
possibly because there were only three determinations of ArtC. We
utilized a new, non-invasive, oscillometric method which has been
validated (Brinton, et al, Amer J Cardiol, 1997) to measure
brachial ArtC in 15 pregnant women at 14, 24, 28, 32, and 36
weeks. An ambulatory BP device recorded 30-40 determinations of
BP and ArtC during each 24 hour monitoring session. None of the
women developed preeclampsia.
Week
|
14
|
24
|
28
|
32
|
36
|
SBP
|
122± 3
|
122± 3
|
126± 3
|
125± 3
|
130± 3*
|
DBP
|
66± 2
|
65± 2
|
66± 3
|
65± 1
|
70± 2
|
ArtC
|
0.112± 0.005
|
0.110± 0.005
|
0.099± 0.005*
|
0.102± 0.005*
|
0.099± 0.005*
|
Values are Mean± SEM, *
p < 0.05 vs. 14 wk
ArtC decreased significantly at 28 wk and remained low
thereafter. SBP increased significantly at 36 wk, though there
appeared to be a trend toward an increase at 28 wk, coinciding
with the decrease in ArtC. DBP did not change. We conclude that
brachial ArtC decreases in the middle of pregnancy, and these
changes precede, or possibly occur contemporaneously with, the
increase in SBP. Further, the results demonstrate the feasibility
of using this non-invasive method for monitoring ArtC during
pregnancy, and should be useful in studying ArtC during
preeclampsia.
Key Words: Arterial Compliance, Pregnancy, Blood Pressure
AJH-APRIL 1998-VOL. 11, NO.4, PART 2
|
