ABSTRACT
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Cardiovascular and endothelial dysfunction is recognized nowadays as an important etiological factor contributing to the development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. RECENT FINDINGS: Preeclampsia is considered a specific disease of pregnancy, but recent theories suggest that women suffering from the condition have greater propensity to develop atherosclerosis, heart disease, and stroke over the years. It is possible that transient but severe endothelial dysfunction observed in preeclampsia potentiates a cascade of events that progresses to atherosclerosis. Preeclampsia offers a unique window of opportunity to identify maternal endothelial dysfunction and pre-existing cardiovascular disease. The placenta is closely involved in the onset of preeclampsia, but endothelial and cardiac vascular factors also play important causal roles in the development of hypertension during pregnancy. According to the data presented, it is clear that preeclampsia selects a group at high risk of development of atherosclerosis and at increased cardiovascular risk, as well as of stroke, in the decades following childbirth.
