High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - When you are pregnant you need to be particularly careful about your health. An example is high blood pressure. It is important to watch for signs of high blood pressure all through a woman's life, but during pregnancy, it is crucial.

Blood pressure is the force inside your blood vessels when your heart beats. If your blood pressure is high most of the time, you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, and that can lead to stroke or heart problems. High blood pressure is a silent killer, since it's possible to not have symptoms.

During pregnancy, high blood pressure can affect the unborn baby. It's also associated with a serious issue at the time of delivery called preeclampsia that needs to be treated aggressively.

Women who have high blood pressure in pregnancy are more likely to have problems later in life with their pressure. Of course, about three out of 10 Americans have high blood pressure, and remember, people who look healthy and are not overweight can also have high blood pressure as well.

Reported By Dr. Brian McDonough, KYW Newsradio Medical Editor