Researchers at Wake Forest University have identified a potential link between high blood pressure during pregnancy and later cognitive changes in women. The findings were reported in Neurology, a leading medical journal.
In a large review of medical records, researchers examined 2,239 women with an average age of 73. Of these, about 83 percent had at least one pregnancy. Among the group, 100 women experienced high blood pressure during pregnancy, while 147 were diagnosed with preeclampsia or eclampsia. Preeclampsia involves elevated blood pressure that can accompanies kidney or other organ damage during pregnancy.
Participants completed memory and reasoning assessments on roughly a 15 month cycle, over an average span of five years. Women who survived preeclampsia showed a faster decline in cognitive performance during pregnancy compared with women who had normal blood pressure or who had not given birth.
On average, eclampsia survivors lost 0.3 points in cognitive tests, whereas other participants showed an average decline of 0.05 points across the same period.
While more research is needed to confirm these observations, the results emphasize the importance of effectively managing and monitoring blood pressure during pregnancy and in the years after delivery. Earlier studies have linked preeclampsia to higher risks of stroke and cardiovascular issues later in life, underscoring the long term brain health considerations for mothers.
These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence that blood pressure control around the time of pregnancy may have implications beyond the immediate perinatal period. Health professionals may consider closer tracking of blood pressure and cognitive health in women who have had preeclampsia or severe hypertensive episodes during pregnancy, as part of a broader strategy to support lifelong brain health. The study highlights the ongoing need for research to understand how pregnancy-related hypertension affects aging and how interventions might mitigate any long term effects on thinking skills.
In the broader context of maternal health, the study aligns with guidelines that advocate for regular prenatal blood pressure monitoring and postpartum follow up. Public health messaging continues to stress the importance of recognizing and treating high blood pressure in pregnancy to protect both maternal health and long term quality of life. Health systems may benefit from integrating cardiovascular and cognitive screening for women with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, especially as the population ages and life expectancy increases. Future research is expected to clarify the mechanisms at work and to identify practical strategies for preserving cognitive function from the perinatal period onward.