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Preeclampsia is marked by a pronounced rise in peripheral vascular resistance, which in turn causes a rise in blood pressure. This physiologic study explored the mechanism underlying this phenomenon by monitoring sympathetic-nerve activity directly at the postganglionic nerves in the blood vessels of skeletal muscle.
Nine preeclampsic women and three age-matched control groups -- eight normotensive pregnant women, and six normotensive and seven hypertensive nonpregnant women -- had microelectrodes placed in the muscle-nerve fascicles of the peroneal nerve. The rate of sympathetic-nerve activity in the preeclampsic patients averaged 33 bursts per minute, versus 10 bursts per minute in the normal pregnant women and 15 in the nonpregnant hypert…