Antihypertensive Drugs and Perinatal Outcomes in Hypertensive Women Attending a Specialized Tertiary Hospital

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the most commonly used antihypertensive medications in pregnant women and to determine the impact of these medications on perinatal (maternal and fetal) outcomes. Methods: The medical records of 484 hypertensive pregnant women attended a tertiary university hospital during the study period were retrospectively evaluated for eligibility. Singleton pregnancies of women who were on antihypertensive medications and who delivered in the hospital were included in the study. Results: Two hundred and ten women (mean age 32.4±5.6 years and mean BMI 34±8.1 Kg/m2 ) were eligible. The most prevalent subtype of hypertension was preeclampsia (41.4%). Low birth weight (LBW), preterm delivery (PTD), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), small for gestational age (SGA), respiratory distress syndrome and neonatal care unit admissions were significantly higher in women with preeclampsia than in the women with other types of hypertension. Labetalol was the most common prescribed antihypertensive drug. There were 101 (48.1%) women on combined therapy. Low birth weight, preterm delivery, IUGR, SGA, respiratory distress syndrome, absent end diastolic flow, neonatal care unit admission, preeclampsia and high dependency unit admissions of mothers were significantly higher in the women who received combined therapy. Conclusion: This study showed that labetalol was the most commonly prescribed antihypertensive drug in this cohort and women on combined antihypertensive medications had significantly higher maternal and fetal complications. Larger prospective study including hypertensive women with or without antihypertensive medications in more than one center is needed to evaluate the affect of antihypertensive medications on perinatal outcomes.