Labetalol pharmacokinetics in pregnancy-induced hypertension
Article Abstract:
Labetalol is a drug that reduces blood pressure by blocking chemicals that are released by the body to cause blood vessels to constrict. The drug is also known to block uterine contractions in rats. Labetalol can be used to treat high blood pressure induced by pregnancy. The physiology of pregnancy can alter the absorption of many drugs. How the body uses and gets rid of labetalol, and the time required for it to begin and stop working were studied in eight women with pregnancy-induced high blood pressure. Peak labetalol concentrations were found 20 minutes after oral administration. The time it took for the drug to be eliminated from the body was shorter in pregnant patients than nonpregnant patients with high blood pressure and patients with normal blood pressure. Food delayed the peak blood concentration by about 60 minutes. Concentrations of labetalol were found in the umbilical cord blood of the fetus (half of that found in the mother's blood) and in the fluid surrounding the fetus (16 percent of that found in the mother's blood). (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1990
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Peripartum cardiomyopathy: an ominous diagnosis
Article Abstract:
Pregnant women who develop peripartum cardiomyopathy may have unpredictable and unfavorable outcomes. Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare complication of pregnancy described as unexplained heart failure in the first five months or last month of pregnancy. Researchers evaluated 28 patients with peripartum cardiomyopathy who had no previous history of heart disease. Five patients died, and three received heart transplants. The infant death rate was 36 per 1,000 births. No predictive symptoms of peripartum cardiomyopathy were identified.
Publication Name: American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0002-9378
Year: 1997
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