[Hypertension in pregnancy--risk factors, prevention and treatment]

The term hypertension in pregnancy stands either for a high blood pressure, which has already developed before pregnancy (i.e., chronic hypertension in pregnancy), or for a pregnancy-associated disease (i.e., pregnancy-induced hypertension). Each form of hypertension may be an isolated phenomenon or constitute a part of the syndrome of preeclampsia or eclampsia. This review focuses mainly on the risk factor assessment, prevention and treatment of hypertension developing during pregnancy. Despite a frequent occurrence of this disease its prevention and treatment is still a subject of debates, and only a limited number of studies, which fulfill the criteria of "evidence-based medicine" have so far been performed in this field. Although the impressive advances in treatment of hypertension in the general population have been done, the choice of drugs and control of hypertension developing during pregnancy is still far from being satisfactory.