Management of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy in Black women: a
systematic review
Abstract
Black women are four times more likely to die than White women in
pregnancy in the U.K. Black women are more prone to Hypertensive
Disorders in Pregnancy (HDP). Outside of pregnancy, there are race based
differences in the management of hypertension as Calcium-Channel
Blockers (CCB) are more effective in reducing blood pressure in Black
patients. It is unclear whether these differences in anti-hypertensive
management extend to the management of hypertension in pregnancy.
Objectives The primary objective was to address this gap in evidence by
undertaking a systematic review of all randomised control trials
investigating pharmacological management of HDP to assess whether CCBs
are the most effective anti-hypertensive agent in Black pregnant women.
Search Strategy The following electronic databases were searched:
PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase. We used MeSH and free text terms in
conjunction to increase sensitivity to potentially relevant studies.
Selection Criteria Inclusion criteria: (1) study involved treatment of
HDP; (2) study was of a randomised control trial design; (3) one of the
treatment arms involved CCBs and (4) English full-text. Data collection
and Analysis Information regarding baseline participant data, type of
anti-hypertensive, and clinical outcomes was extracted from each study.
Main results This current review highlighted one randomised control
trial, which stratified HDP outcomes by ethnicity. Conclusions There is
a lack of evidence to draw conclusions as to whether CCBs are the most
effective anti-hypertensive agent for Black patients with HDP. Funding
None Keywords Hypertension; pregnancy; pre-eclampsia; ethnicity;
anti-hypertensive; Calcium-Channel Blocker; race; Black; maternal
mortality; maternal morbidity