The hypertensive diabetic pregnancy

ABSTRACT

Hypertension (Htn), is a condition describing the presence of a consistently elevated blood pressure in an individual, and diabetes mellitus (DM), is a heterogeneous condition due to defective production or action of insulin and characterised by a state of hyperglycemia. The two types of diabetes are chronic medical conditions with varying prevalence depending on the population studied. Pregestational diabetes mellitus (PGDM) and chronic (essential) hypertension (CH) are associated with tissue damage resulting in complications, the most severe of which results in vascular disease. In the pregnant woman these entities occur either separately or together and are associated with a significant increase in both maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. The other entities of concern are gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) with or without proteinuria.