Five-year follow-up of blood pressure and left ventricular mass in children with different maternal histories of hypertension

Abstract

To follow the changes in blood pressure and echocardiographically determined left ventricular mass in offspring of mothers who had hypertension during pregnancy. Longitudinal study with a 5-year follow-up. Nineteen offspring of mothers who had hypertension during pregnancy, and sustained hypertension at follow-up 7-12 years after term, were examined, by blood pressure measurement and M-mode echocardiography, at a mean age of 12.8 years (range 10.6-16.4) and were re-examined 5.6 years later. For comparison, 17 children born to mothers who had hypertension during pregnancy, but were normotensive at follow-up, were also examined. A control group of children born following a normotensive pregnancy was also recruited. Comparisons were made by analysis of variance among the three groups. At the initial examination systolic blood pressure was significantly higher in the children born to mothers who had hypertension during pregnancy and were hypertensive at follow-up. This difference persisted in the adolescents at follow-up. No differences among the three groups in echocardiographically determined left ventricular mass were seen, either at the initial examination or at follow-up. There was a significant correlation between left ventricular masses determined 5 years apart (r = 0.53, P < 0.001). The present longitudinal study demonstrates that offspring of mothers with hypertension during pregnancy, that was sustained at follow-up, have higher blood pressure than controls. Children with different maternal histories of hypertension maintain their rank with regard to left ventricular mass during adolescence.