Peculiarities of blood flow in the uterine arteries, factors of angiogenesis, hormonal profile and their relationships in pregnant women with hypertension

Abstract

The objective: to assess and establish the relationships between Doppler blood flow indicators in the uterine arteries, angiogenesis factors and hormones of the mother-placenta-fetus system in pregnant women with arterial hypertension I-II degree.Materials and methods. A prospective study of 88 pregnant women at 11–12 weeks of gestation was carried out: 61 pregnant women with chronic arterial hypertension (CH) of the I–II degree (main group) and 27 healthy pregnant women with physiological pregnancy (control group). All patients have been examined: blood flow Doppler in the left and right uterine arteries – pulsation index (PI), resistance index (IR) and systolic-diastolic ratio (SDR). Chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), progesterone (PG), estradiol (E) and angiogenesis indices (placental growth factor (PlGF) as a pro-angiogenic factor) and placental-soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (sFlt-1) as an anti-angiogenic factor and the ratio of sFlt-1/PlGF) were determined in blood. Statistical analysis was performed using the program “STATISTICA 13”.Results. There was no statistically significant difference in SDR and IP indicators between the groups. PI values in the right uterine artery in pregnant women of the main group were significantly higher than the indicator of healthy pregnant women (1.73 (1.65; 1.8) units versus 1.33 (1.1; 1.49) units, respectively). The PI values in the left uterine artery in pregnant women with CAH also significantly differed from those in women with the physiological course of pregnancy (1.7 (1.66; 1.79) units and 1.35 (1.22; 1.51) units, respectively). A significant correlation between SDR indicators and markers of angiogenesis and hormonal profile in women of the main group has not been established. In pregnant women with CAH, an inverse relationship was observed between PI and PlGF (mean strength R=-0.34 for PI in the right uterine artery and R= -0.41 for PI in the left uterine artery), respectively, between PI and sFlt-1/PlGF – direct relationship (average strength R=+ 0.37 for PI in the right uterine artery and R=+0.43 for PI in the left uterine artery). In women with the physiological course of pregnancy and childbirth, the PI value in the right uterine artery correlated with the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (direct relationship) and PlGF level (feedback). PI in the left uterine artery had a direct relationship with the value of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio. In pregnant women with CAH, the PlGF level decreases, while the PI value, on the contrary, increases.Conclusions. The significant differences between the indicators of SDS and IR in pregnant women with CAH and pregnant women without CAH have not been established. In women with CAH, significantly higher PI values were found in the right and left uterine arteries compared to those in women without CAH. The course of pregnancy in women with CAH is accompanied by a shift in the balance between pro- and anti-angiogenic factors, as evidenced by a statistically significant increase in sFlt-1 level against the background of a decrease in PlGF level, as well as a corresponding increase in the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio as compared with pregnant women without CAH. There are no correlations between indicators of SDR and IR in the uterine arteries, markers of angiogenesis and hormonal profile in pregnant women with and without CAH. Nevertheless, PI values in the right and left uterine arteries correlate with the PlGF level (feedback) and the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (direct relationship) in pregnant women with CAH. This indicates the presence of disorders in this contingent of women in the I trimester of pregnancy.