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Pregnancy-induced hypertension: roles of calcium and nitric oxide

Abstract:

Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a cause of low birth weight and both maternal and infantile death world wide. This article reviews work suggesting that dietary calcium supplementation can sharply reduce the incidence of PIH in women whose diet is calcium-poor. It also describes physiologic conditions prevailing during pregnancy that could explain the role of calcium in PIH, together with the potential benefits of calcium in the setting. Adequate dietary calcium intake maintains the levels of ionized calcium within the narrow physiological range, and this is crucial for the synthesis of nitric oxide in the vascular endothelium. Calcium appears to be responsible for maintaining the vasodilatation that characterizes normal pregnancy.