Variability of arterial blood pressure in normal and hypertensive pregnancy.

In normal pregnancy the circadian blood pressure rhythm is similar to that in the non-pregnant state, with the highest blood pressure values in the morning and the lowest at midnight. This rhythm is lost in patients with pre-eclampsia. Women with severe pre-eclampsia show a reversed circadian rhythm, with a nocturnal increase in blood pressure during the sleeping phase. Although the reasons for this nocturnal hypertension in severe pre-eclampsia are poorly understood, the results suggest that pre-eclamptic women are endangered by hypertensive emergencies, mostly at night. Therefore blood pressure measurement should be extended to the night, and antihypertensive treatment must be adapted to the demands of a reversed circadian rhythm in relevant subgroups of patients.