Viruses could cause high blood pressure in pregnancy

CBC.ca

Australian researchers have linked exposure to viral infections with high blood pressure during pregnancy, and subsequent preterm births.

When untreated, high blood pressure in pregnant women, called pre-eclampsia, can cause convulsions that can kill the baby and mother, researchers at the University of Adelaide and the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide said in a release Monday.

High blood pressure occurs in up to 10 per cent of first pregnancies in the developed world, and is a common cause of maternal death in Third World countries.

The researchers said their study is important because it is the first to link viral infections — especially viruses of the herpes group — and high blood pressure.

"The cause of high blood pressure in pregnancy has been an enigma for decades," they said.

Using data on newborns from 717 pregnancies with complications and 609 control births, the researchers concluded that the risk of developing high blood pressure increased when the babies had DNA from certain herpes viruses.

"We are just beginning to understand the interaction and importance of exposure to viruses and genetic susceptibility to infection both in pregnancy and the newborn," virologist Paul Goldwater said.

More study is required, said Prof. Alastair MacLennan, leader of the research group.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has said premature labour is the cause of 75 per cent of all newborn deaths in babies born without birth defects.

The Australian study has been published in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.