CALCIUM SUPPLEMENTATION PREVENTS PREGNANCY-INDUCED HYPERTENSION BY INCREASING THE PRODUCTION OF VASCULAR NITRIC-OXIDE

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) remains a common cause of materna l and fetal morbidity and mortality. During the past 7 years, some pro gress has been made in the prevention of PIH. Specifically, clinical s tudies have shown that supplementation with calcium can significantly reduce the frequency of PIH, specially in populations with a low calci um intake. We have suggested that, in such a population, calcium suppl ementation is a safe and effective measure for reducing the frequency of PIH. Thus, the purpose of this article is to advance a hypothesis a bout the mechanism by which calcium supplementation reduces the risk o f PIH, We propose that dietary calcium supplementation reduces the fre quency of PIH by maintaining the serum ionized calcium level which is crucial for the production of endothelial nitric oxide, the increased generation of which maintains the vasodilatation that is characteristi c of normal pregnancy.