AMBULATORY BLOOD-PRESSURE MONITORING IN NORMOTENSIVE PREGNANT-WOMEN

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) provides a profile of bloo d pressure (BP) during daily activities and sleep and could uncover th e inter-individual variability of BP, The aims of this study were to e stablish the normal values of the ABPM during the three trimesters of normal pregnancy, and to compare these values with those obtained in t he office. ABPM was carried out on 22 normotensive pregnant women, BP values were compared with those obtained in the office, BP during the third trimester was significantly higher than the BP recorded during t he first two gestational periods. In the three trimesters of pregnancy mean ambulatory systolic and diastolic BP were lower than the BP meas ured in the office in lying and standing positions, On the other hand, mean ambulatory BP (systolic and diastolic) measured during daily act ivities was not significantly different from the BP measured in the of fice, Sleeping BP was significantly lower than waking values in all tr imesters, while there were not significant differences in the degree o f BP fall among the three trimesters, Six women were sequentially stud ied during the three trimesters of pregnancy and particularly at the 1 2, 24 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, In these women, a small but significa nt rise in mean 24 h systolic and diastolic BP was observed at 32 week s of pregnancy, Sleeping BP was significantly lower than waking values in the three trimesters, No significant difference in the degree of B P fall on the three gestational dates was found, It is concluded that ABPM is a useful tool for the evaluation of BP variability during preg nancy, During normal pregnancy ambulatory BP levels are highest in the day and lowest at night at all gestational ages and increased at the third trimester of pregnancy compared to the values observed during th e first two gestational periods.