Pranayama Could be a Therapeutic Tool for Prevention of Hypertension-Development in Pregnancy

Abstract

Gestational Hypertension (GH), the hypertension induced by pregnancy, which was earlier known as Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension (PIH) or preeclampsia is defined as hypertension that occurs after 20^th week of gestation in an otherwise normotensive pregnant woman.[1] GH occurs in 3-5% of all pregnancies and 30-35% of risk pregnancies, and it accounts for about 12% of maternal deaths in developing countries of south Asia.^[1] Though GH usually develops in the later part of pregnancy, often it progresses rapidly and therefore GH patients are generally brought to hospital in advanced stage of the disease that creates difficulty in the management without adequate experience and facilities available for treatment of GH.^[2] Recently, GH has been reported to be associated with Cardiovascular (CV) risks during pregnancy and also in the later part of life.[2] Also, there are reports of CV morbidity and mortality during and after pregnancy in pre-eclamptic women.^[3]