Pharmacological treatment of pre-eclampsia

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia is characterized by sudden onset of high blood pressure during pregnancy, where the previous mother’s blood pressure was normal. If left untreated, pre-eclampsia causes serious complications. It can develop into eclampsia, a potentially life-threatening condition. Therefore, early diagnosis and management are very important to reduce the risk of abortion or even fatal. Magnesium sulfate and antihypertensive drugs such as Labetalol, Calcium channel blockers, Methyldopa, Hydralazine, Diuretics, etc are being used commonly to control pre-eclampsia and prevent its complications. To sum up, the antihypertensive therapy and magnesium prophylaxis are effective in treatment of pre-eclampsia and in prevention the progression to severe pre-eclampsia. These drugs help to stabilize the high blood pressure and protect mother and fetus until optimal time to delivery.