Pre Eclampsia: Its Effect on Renal, Cardiovascular, Hepatic and Thyroid Functions a Review

Preeclampsia is a severe disorder of pregnancy characterized by the development of hypertension and proteinuria, increased vascular resistance and endothelial dysfunction in the mother, altered placental perfusion and restricted fetal growth. There is increased release of soluble growth factor like sFlt 1 from placenta, which decreases the availability of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor(VEGF) receptors and decreases the availability of endothelial Nitric Oxide synthase. This inturn decreases the diastolic relaxation and endothelial dysfunction, podocyte injury of glomerular cells, increased excretion of podocyte specific proteins in urine leads to proteinuria. Cardiac hypertrophy further complicates the heart function. There is a raise in liver function; soluble factor like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt 1) may cause a disturbance in thyroid hormone function, thus prone to thyroid problem during or after pregnancy.