Serum Androgen Levels as a Marker for the Severity of Preeclampsia

hypertensive disorders are one of the most important complications during pregnancy, which in combination with hemorrhage and infections make a dangerous triad, making them the major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in 3.7-5% of all pregnancies.

Hypertensive disorders during pregnancy are classified into 4 categories, as recommended by the National High Blood Pressure Education Program Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Pregnancy:

• Chronic hypertension
• Preeclampsia-eclampsia
• Preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension
• Gestational hypertension (transient hypertension of pregnancy or chronic hypertension identified in the latter half of pregnancy). This terminology is preferred over the older but widely used term "pregnancy-induced hypertension" (PIH) because it is more precise .

In 2008, the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) released revised guidelines that simplified the classification of hypertension in pregnancy into 2 categories, preexisting or gestational, with the option to add "with preeclampsia" to either category if additional maternal or fetal symptoms, signs, or test results support this .

Chronic hypertension is defined as blood pressure exceeding 140/90 mm Hg before pregnancy or before 20 weeks' gestation. When hypertension is first identified during a woman's pregnancy and she is at less than 20 weeks' gestation, blood pressure elevations usually represent chronic hypertension.