Pregnancy-induced hypertension can cause serious problems for both the mother and the baby if left untreated. It develops after the 20th week of pregnancy and complicates 5-7% of all pregnancies. Severe preeclampsia is a multi-system disorder more common in first pregnancies. It is characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine and is the most life-threatening form.
In a series of Caucasian women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, there was a significant association of preeclampsia with a variant of the angiotensinogen gene (AGT), T235, found previously to be associated with essential hypertension. This finding was corroborated in another sample of Japanese women. There was no association found in a study of African women with Pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Related to:
PIH, toxemia, preeclampsia