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Fatal maternal stroke associated with preeclampsia/eclampsia has been linked to severe hypertension — but has clinical management of acute pregnancy-related hypertension taken this relation into account? To identify gaps in care, investigators conducted a retrospective review of all pregnancy-related deaths due to preeclampsia in California from 2002 to 2007.
Among >3,300,000 births, 333 pregnancy-related maternal deaths occurred; of these, 54 were caused by preeclampsia (33 specifically due to stroke). Median blood pressure (BP) preceding the stroke was 196 mm Hg (systolic) and 113 mm Hg (diastolic). All strokes were associated with systolic BP >160 mm Hg; in 73% of strokes, diastolic BP was >105 mm Hg. Regarding timing, 33% of strokes were…