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In healthy women who've never given birth before, alterations in heart function and blood flow in the uterus in early pregnancy may help predict preeclampsia, UK investigators report.

"In healthy women who've never given birth before, alterations in heart function and blood flow in the uterus in early pregnancy may help predict preeclampsia, a potentially serious complication involving high blood pressure, that often leads to premature delivery, UK investigators report.

In the new study, 534 women pregnant with a single fetus underwent ultrasound testing of their heart and the blood vessels that supply the uterus between 11 and 14 weeks of pregnancy.

The research team compared heart function and uterine blood flow in women who had preeclampsia, a small infant, both or neither. The findings appear in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

Dr. Kypros H. Nicolaides and associates at King's College Hospital in London report that the eight women with pre-eclampsia, but not those with small infants, showed increased heart output and artery pressure, compared with the 457 women who had normal pregnancies.

If confirmed in larger studies, these findings may affect the treatment of preeclampsia, the researchers say. For example, early monitoring of heart function may help obstetricians make a more informed decision about which high blood pressure drugs to use, they add."