Aim: It was reported that eclampsia might be caused by vasogenic edema from broken autoregulation in cerebral blood flow, potentially due to elevated systemic blood pressure (BP). This study retrospectively investigated the severity of BP elevation and oscillation amplitude of systemic BP just before eclampsia onset. Methods: Five eclamptic and 4 non-eclamptic women with complications of preeclampsia were enrolled. Three eclamptic and 4 non-eclamptic women with severe hypertension received antihypertensive drugs. Systolic and diastolic BPs, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and oscillation amplitude of BP (ΔBP) before eclampsia onset were evaluated. Results: Maximum MAPs in eclamptic women did not significantly differ from that of non-eclamptic women (130 ± 17 mmHg vs. 116 ± 8 mmHg, respectively). The systolic and diastolic ΔBP in eclamptic women were higher than that in non-eclamptic women (45 ± 15 mmHg vs. 16 ± 6 mmHg, P = 0.03, and 25 ± 6 mmHg vs. 9 ± 2 mmHg, P = 0.004, respectively).
Conclusions:Our results indicate that a large ΔBP could influence eclampsia onset.