Maternal venous concentration of atrial natriuretic peptide at vaginal delivery from pre-eclampsia pregnancies

ABSTRACT

To investigate the influence of vaginal delivery in preeclamptic women on atrial natriuretic peptide [ANP], its concentration was quantified by radio-immunoassay technique in 30 preeclamptic nulliparous women and 10 comparable normotensive pregnant controls. Plasma ANP levels were increased from 228.56 +/- 20.7 pg/ml during late pregnancy, to 237.46 +/- 22.9 pg/ml during labor and 271.45 +/- 40.3 pg/ml immediately after delivery in preeclamptic women. ANP rose sharply, immediately after delivery [p <0.001]. A positive correlation was found between ANP and mean arterial pressure