Hypertension in Pregnancy

Few areas of clinical practice give rise to more unsubstantiated dogma than hypertension in pregnancy. In this tenth volume in the Handbook of Hypertension series, Dr. P.C. Rubin and his group of authors have presented in each chapter a clear and dispassionate review of the literature. Since in this instance hypertension is a complication of pregnancy, a proper review could only be obtained by breaking down traditional boundaries between disciplines. The contributors to this book are accordingly eclectic, their areas of interest ranging from physiology to epidemiology and from pathology to pediatrics. The book begins with a review of the physiological changes in normal pregnancy followed by a summary of clinical features of the various forms of hypertension which can complicate pregnancy. The next seven chapters deal with what can broadly be described as laboratory aspects of the subject and encompass the placental, renal and hemodynamic changes, the possible roles of prostanoids, the renin-angiotensin system and autonomic nervous system, and finally a review of animal models.