110-POS

Abstract

Objectives Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in both mothers and offspring later in life. Offspring exposed to a suboptimal intrauterine environment during critical periods of growth may experience altered fetal programming and subsequent long term cardiovascular changes. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in vascular response in offspring from experimental preeclamptic (EPE) compared to normotensive baboon pregnancies (controls), following a high salt diet challenge. Methods After one week of baseline measurements on a standard diet, animals were fed a high salt diet for two weeks. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) were measured and urinary sodium assessed in offspring from EPE (n = 6) and controls (n = 6). A generalized linear model was performed to compare BP between the two groups at both baseline and day 14, adjusted for current age. Data is reported as the mean ± standard error. Significance was set at P Results At baseline there were no differences between the groups for SBP (P = 0.89) and DBP (P = 0.38). After salt loading the EPE group had significantly higher SBP (92 ± 5 mmHg) compared to the control group (83 ± 4 mmHg, P = 0.03). There was no significant difference in DBP between the two groups (P = 0.10). There was no difference in urinary sodium excretion between groups (average for both groups 30 mmol/day). Conclusions Offspring from EPE pregnancies had significantly higher blood pressure after a two week salt challenge, compared with controls. Salt sensitivity may differ in offspring from hypertensive pregnancies due to fetal programming. This could have long term consequences for cardiovascular health of EPE offspring. Further research is required to determine exact mechanisms. Disclosures K.R. Yeung: None. S.M. Lim: None. S. Heffernan: None. S. Pears: None. J.M. Lind: None. A. Hennessy: None. A. Makris: None.