Abstract:
Objective To explore the interactive effect of gestational hypertension and electrocardiographic abnormalities on adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Methods A total of 240 pregnant women with gestational hypertension who registered for prenatal care, received standardized antenatal examinations, and completed delivery in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of Wuhan No.4 Hospital from January 2015 to January 2023 were selected as the gestational hypertension group. During the same period, 240 healthy pregnant women with normal blood pressure and no gestational complications were selected as the normal blood pressure group. Blood pressure, electrocardiographic parameters, and related clinical data of the two groups were collected and compared. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to identify the influencing factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes and the interactive effect of gestational hypertension and electrocardiographic abnormalities on adverse pregnancy outcomes.
Results In the normal blood pressure group, 41 cases had electrocardiographic abnormalities and 199 cases were normal; in the gestational hypertension group, 122 cases had electrocardiographic abnormalities and 118 cases were normal. Compared with the normal blood pressure group, the gestational hypertension group had significantly higher 24-hour average blood pressure, 24-hour average arterial pressure variability coefficient, QT interval, QTc interval, and P-wave width (all P<0.05), while the heart rate and QRS complex width were lower. The incidences of sinus tachycardia, ST-T segment changes, atrial premature beats, ventricular premature beats, and sinus bradycardia in the gestational hypertension group were significantly higher than those in the normal blood pressure group (all P<0.05). Among the gestational hypertension group, patients with electrocardiographic abnormalities had the highest incidences of postpartum hemorrhage, preterm birth, large for gestational age infants, small for gestational age infants, macrosomia, and total adverse pregnancy outcomes (49.18% vs. 26.83%, 11.56%, 19.49%) (P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that ST-T segment changes (OR=1.742, 95%CI: 1.193 to 2.543), 24-hour average systolic blood pressure (OR=1.808, 95%CI: 1.214 to 2.691), 24-hour average diastolic blood pressure (OR=1.861, 95%CI:1.172 to 2.955), 24-hour average arterial pressure variability coefficient (OR=1.377, 95%CI: 1.038 to 1.826), QT interval (OR=1.904, 95%CI: 1.538 to 2.358), and QTc interval (OR=2.184, 95%CI: 1.467 to 3.251) were influencing factors of adverse pregnancy outcomes (all P<0.05). The results of interaction analysis showed that the coexistence of electrocardiographic abnormalities and gestational hypertension was a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes (OR=2.716, 95%CI: 2.008 to 3.672, P<0.05).
Conclusion The interaction between gestational hypertension and electrocardiographic abnormalities has an impact on adverse pregnancy outcomes.