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Objective Our objective is to examine severe maternal morbidity (SMM) and patterns of antihypertensive medication use before and during pregnancy among individuals with chronic hypertension.

Study Design We examined 11,759 pregnancies resulting in a live birth or stillbirth to individuals with chronic hypertension and one or more antihypertensive prescription 6 months before pregnancy (Optum, 2007–17). We examined whether study outcomes were associated with the use of medication as compared to no use during pregnancy. In addition, patterns of medication use based on the Food and Drug Administration guidance and literature were evaluated. Medication use was divided into prepregnancy and during pregnancy use and classified as pregnancy recommended (PR) or not pregnancy recommended (nPR) or no medication use. SMM was defined per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition of 21 indicators. Risk ratios (RR) reflecting the association of SMM with the use of antihypertensive medications were computed using modified Poisson regression with robust standard errors and adjusted for maternal age, education, and birth year.

Results Overall, 83% of individuals filled an antihypertensive prescription during pregnancy and 6.3% experienced SMM. The majority of individuals with a prescription prior to pregnancy had a prescription for the same medication in pregnancy. Individuals with any versus no medication use in pregnancy had increased adjusted RR (aRR) of SMM (1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.96–1.44). Compared to the use of PR medications before and during pregnancy, aRRs were 1.42 (95% CI: 1.18–1.69, 12.4% of sample) for nPR use before and during pregnancy, 1.52 (1.23–1.86; 12.4%) for nPR (before) and PR (during) use, and 2.67 (1.73–4.15) for PR and nPR use. Patterns with no medication use during pregnancy were not statistically significant.

Conclusion Pattern of antihypertensive medication use before and during pregnancy may be associated with an elevated risk of SMM. Further research is required to elucidate whether this association is related to the severity of hypertension, medication effectiveness, or suboptimal quality of care.

Key Points

Individuals with any medication use compared to no medication use in pregnancy had an increased risk of SMM.

Specific medication use patterns were associated with an elevated risk of SMM.

Pattern of antihypertensive medication use before and during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of SMM.

Keywords chronic hypertension - pregnancy - antihypertensive medication - severe maternal morbidity - preeclampsia - eclampsia Note

Data for this project were accessed using the Stanford Center for Population Health Sciences Data Core. The PHS Data Core is supported by a National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Science Clinical and Translational Science Award (award no.: UL1 TR001085) and from Internal Stanford funding. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.

Publication History

Received: 19 January 2022

Accepted: 18 August 2022

Article published online:
19 October 2022

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