[Intima-media thickness and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a prospective study]

To evaluate intima-media thickness (IMT) in hypertensive pregnant women and to ascertain if an increased IMTcorrelates with the development of preeclampsia.

A controlled, descriptive and prospective study was conducted in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit (MFMU) of a level II hospital with perinatal assistance. Throughout six months randomly selected pregnant women were allocated in three branches (A - control group, n = 17; B - gestational hypertension group, n = 17; C - pregestational hypertension group, n = 14(. All of them were subjected to clinical interview, physical exam, obstetric ultrasound, laboratory and CTG evaluation and IMT measurement in the distal wall of both common carotid arteries at 1 cm. from bifurcation by the same operator from whom group classification was concealed. High resolution ultrasound and a linear 7.5 MHz transducer were used. Follow-up included obstetric and neonatal outcomes.

Mean IMT was 0.43 mm with a standard deviation (sd) of 0.09 mm in group A; 0.52 (sd=0.11), p=0.034 in group B; 0.58 (sd=0.11), p=2,3×10-4 in group C. RESULTS were not significantly different in hypertensive women with or without preeclampsia (0.52 (sd=0.11) vs 0.57 (sd=0.11), p=0.20).

Carotid IMT, a validated endothelial dysfunction surrogate endpoint, was increased in both groups B and C although there were no differences between hypertensive women with or without preeclampsia.