Pregnant and postpartum women are dying in record numbers from chronic high blood pressure, MedicineNet reports.
Specifically, blood pressure-related causes of death multiplied by a factor of 15 over a 39-year period. Black women were affected three to four times as much, the study found.
While deaths due to preeclampsia actually fell during that same time period, study authors explained that deaths due to chronic high blood pressure increased, with one-third occurring before delivery, a third the day of delivery or the week following and one-third occurring one week to a year after.
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