Controlling blood pressure in new mothers

Cardio- and cerebrovascular remodelling after hypertensive pregnancy: assessing the impact of post-partum blood pressure control (Dr Jamie Kitt)

During pregnancy some women develop severe high blood pressure called pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension. After pregnancy, the blood pressure often settles but the changes in their body can persist. These women are at higher risk of heart disease and stroke in later life. Professor Leeson has shown that giving new mothers the chance to monitor their own blood pressure and alter their medication immediately after the birth can improve their blood pressure control for up to six months. This fellowship will investigate whether better blood pressure control after birth has benefits for other heart and circulatory changes known to occur in women who have had high blood pressure in pregnancy. They will rerun their previous trial of self-monitoring after birth, using updated blue-tooth blood pressure monitoring and with doctors adjusting the dose of blood pressure medication. They will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to take pictures of the brain and heart, as well as echocardiography and imaging of the retina, six months after giving birth. This will show whether regulating blood pressure improves the structure and function of the heart, brain and blood vessels. If successful, this could revolutionise how doctors care for new mothers in the period after birth and help improve their long-term health.