What is high blood pressure in pregnancy?
Blood pressure is the force of your blood pushing against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is when this force against your artery walls is too high. There are different types of high blood pressure ...in pregnancy:
Gestational hypertension is high blood pressure that you develop while you are pregnant. It starts after you are 20 weeks pregnant. You usually don't have any other symptoms. In many cases, it does not harm you or your baby, and it goes away within 12 weeks after childbirth. But it does raise your risk of high blood pressure in the future. It sometimes can be severe, which may lead to low birth weight or preterm birth. Some women with gestational hypertension do go on to develop preeclampsia.
Chronic hypertension is high blood pressure that started before the 20th week of pregnancy or before you became pregnant. Some women may have had it long before becoming pregnant but didn't know it until they got their blood pressure checked at their prenatal visit. Sometimes chronic hypertension can also lead to preeclampsia.
Preeclampsia is a sudden increase in blood pressure after the 20th week of pregnancy. It usually happens in the last trimester. In rare cases, symptoms may not start until after delivery. This is called postpartum preeclampsia. Preeclampsia also includes signs of damage to some of your organs, such as your liver or kidney. The signs may include protein in the urine and very high blood pressure. Preeclampsia can be serious or even life-threatening for both you and your baby.
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Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of disability and premature death throughout the world, and contributes substantially to the escalating costs of health care. The underlying pathology is atherosclerosis, which develops over many years and is usually advanced by the time symptoms occur, genera...lly in middle age. Acute coronary and cerebrovascular events frequently occur suddenly, and are often fatal before medical care can be given. Modification of risk factors has been shown to reduce mortality and morbidity in people with diagnosed or undiagnosed cardiovascular disease.
This publication provides guidance on reducing disability and premature deaths from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral vascular disease in people at high risk, who have not yet experienced a cardiovascular event. People with established cardiovascular disease are at very high risk of recurrent events and are not the subject of these guidelines. They have been addressed in previous WHO guidelines.
Several forms of therapy can prevent coronary, cerebral and peripheral vascular events. Decisions about whether to initiate specific preventive action, and with what degree of intensity, should be guided by estimation of the risk of any such vascular event. The risk prediction charts that accompany these guidelinesb allow treatment to be targeted accord-
ing to simple predictions of absolute cardiovascular risk.
Recommendations are made for management of major cardiovascular risk factors through changes in lifestyle and prophylactic drug therapies. The guidelines provide a framework for the development of national guidance on prevention of cardiovascular disease that takes into account the particular political, economic, social and medical circumstances.
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Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the single most common cause of death globally. However, with falling CHD mortality rates, an increasingnumber of people live with CHD and may need support to manage their symptoms and improve prognosis. Cardiac rehabilitation is acomplex multifaceted intervention whi...ch aims to improve the health outcomes of people with CHD. Cardiac rehabilitation consists of threecore modalities: education, exercise training and psychological support. This is an update of a Cochrane systematic review previouslypublished in 2011, which aims to investigate the specific impact of the educational component of cardiac rehabilitation.
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This study investigated occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers (HWs) exposed to cleaning agents in two tertiary hospitals in South Africa and Tanzania.
Previous studies have demonstrated an association between asthma or respiratory... symptoms and exposure to broad categories of cleaning-related exposures in healthcare settings. However, few studies have identified the specific cleaning agents responsible for asthma and other health outcomes. Products used for medical instrument cleaning and disinfection such as glutaraldehyde, orthophthalaldehyde (OPA) and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) have been implicated in the causation and exacerbation of work-related asthma (WRA) and upper airway outcomes such as rhinitis.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) provides an overview of this common lung condition characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) provides an overview of this common lung condition characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation.
The World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) provides an overview of this common lung condition characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation.
The document provides information on managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It emphasizes the importance of recognizing early symptoms such as persistent coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing. The guide offers practical advice, including quitting smoking, avoiding lung irritant...s, regular consultations with healthcare providers, and seeking support from friends and caregivers. It also highlights the value of preparing for medical visits, noting symptoms, understanding risk factors, and taking notes during appointments to maximize treatment effectiveness.
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The "GOLD Patient Guide 2019" explains Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), its causes, symptoms, and stages. It provides practical advice for managing COPD, including the importance of quitting smoking, following medical treatment plans, exercising, maintaining a healthy diet, and creating... a supportive living environment. The guide emphasizes early diagnosis, regular medical checkups, and strategies for managing severe COPD to improve quality of life.
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The document titled "Early Warning Signs of COPD" from the American Lung Association outlines what COPD is, its risk factors, and the importance of recognizing early symptoms such as persistent cough, breathlessness, and frequent chest infections. It emphasizes the need for early consultation with a... healthcare provider and diagnostic testing like spirometry to confirm COPD. Early diagnosis and treatment can help slow disease progression and improve quality of life.
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The document by the American Thoracic Society provides an overview of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), explaining its causes, such as smoking and environmental factors, symptoms like breathlessness and chronic cough, and diagnostic methods including spirometry. It discusses treatment st...rategies, emphasizing smoking cessation, medication use, oxygen therapy, and pulmonary rehabilitation. The document also highlights that while COPD is a lifelong condition, effective management can improve symptoms and quality of life.
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The document "COPD 101: Understanding the Basics" from the COPD Foundation provides foundational knowledge about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It explains what COPD is, common symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis methods, and treatment options, including medications and lifestyle change...s. The guide emphasizes early diagnosis and management to help patients live healthier lives and prevent disease progression.
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The document "COPD 101: Understanding the Basics" from the COPD Foundation provides foundational knowledge about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It explains what COPD is, common symptoms, risk factors, diagnosis methods, and treatment options, including medications and lifestyle change...s. The guide emphasizes early diagnosis and management to help patients live healthier lives and prevent disease progression.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex disease that requires differential diagnosis and proper classification to identify appropriate therapy. Nonpharmacologic therapy and preventative measures should be utilized to prevent worsening of disease, symptoms, and complications. The Gl...obal Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines classify a patient’s COPD and provide recommendations for first-line treatment. The 2021 update included information regarding the use of e-cigarettes as nicotine replacement, triple therapy, and how the SARS-CoV-2 virus impacted patients with COPD. This article will focus on the diagnosis, classification, and treatment of COPD, as well as recently updated information regarding the use of e-cigarettes and the impact of COVID-19.
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The article provides a comprehensive overview of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), covering its causes, symptoms, diagnostic methods, classification of severity, treatment options, and management strategies, with a focus on risk factors, clinical features, and therapeutic approaches such... as smoking cessation, bronchodilators, rehabilitation, and potential surgical interventions.
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Asthma is the commonest chronic respiratory tract disease in children. In low-income countries, challenges exist in asthma diagnosis. In surveys done in children, the prevalence of ‘asthma’ defined by symptoms is high compared to ‘doctor diagnosed asthma’. The questions answered by this revi...ew are What challenges have been experienced in the diagnosis of asthma in children? What solutions will address these challenges?
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The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) was developed to measure the primary goals of asthma management as identified by international guidelines. All guidelines indicate that to achieve good control, treatment should minimise day- and night-time symptoms, activity limitation, airway narrowing and re...scue bronchodilator use and thus reduce the risk of life-threatening exacerbations and long-term morbidity. Three independent studies have provided evidence that the ACQ is valid for measuring asthma control and has strong measurement properties for use both in clinical practice and research. In addition, the smallest change in score that can be considered clinically important has been determined.
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The Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ)1 was developed and validated to measure the primary clinical goal of asthma management as identified by international guidelines. They indicate that to achieve good control, treatment should minimise day and night time symptoms, activity limitation, airway narr...owing and rescue bronchodilator use and thus reduce the risk of life-threatening exacerbations and long-term morbidity. The importance of including all aspects of control in the assessment of individual patients was emphasised by a recent factor analysis which showed that clinical asthma is composed of distinct components which are not closely correlated with each other.6 However, in some studies it may not be possible to collect airway calibre or short-acting β2-agonists data. Previous analysis of non-clinical trial data suggested that when ACQ scores are analysed as group data, the heterogeneity of the way in which individual patients present with inadequate control is lost in the estimation of the mean and the need to measure each individual component of asthma control may become unnecessary. In this analysis, ACQ data from a clinical trial was used to evaluate the measurement properties (reliability, responsiveness, validity and interpretability), of three shortened versions of the ACQ. In addition, we have examined whether the precision and accuracy of estimating the effect of the intervention on asthma control was maintained when the two questions concerning airway calibre and short-acting β2-agonists use were omitted from the trial analysis.
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Since there is no single objective diagnostic test for asthma this study suggests an approach of collecting and assembling pieces of clinical information to create a diagnostic picture, like making a jigsaw puzzle. These pieces should include demonstration of symptom and airway variability and/or br...onchodilator responsiveness over time, to support a clinical diagnosis.
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On 27 September 2024, the Rwanda Ministry of Health announced the confirmation of Marburg virus disease (MVD). Blood samples taken from people showing symptoms were tested by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at the National Reference Laboratory of the Rwanda Biomedi...cal Center and were positive for Marburg virus. As of 29 September 2024, a total of 26 confirmed cases, including eight deaths have been reported. The cases are reported from seven of the 30 districts in the country. Among the confirmed cases, over 70% are healthcare workers from two health facilities in Kigali.
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