In preeclampsia, there occurs a defective trophoblastic invasion of spiral arteries, which is characterized by abnormal uterine artery wave parameter such as increased pulsatility index (PI) and early diastolic notch. This increased uterine artery PI is a good predictor of hypertensive disorder and small for gestational-age babies. Maternal hypertension and proteinuria resolve in the puerperium. Arterial Doppler changes in normal pregnancy were extensively studied. Doppler changes in uterine artery in hypertensive postpartum women were less researched and unclear. This review aimed to compare the uterine artery Doppler changes in preeclamptic and normotensive women during the puerperium through an extensive search of the available literature. It was found that even with the lengthiest follow-up of six weeks postpartum, the increased uterine artery PI persisted and the magnitude was higher in hypertensive than normotensive postpartum women.
Keywords: diastolic notch; postpartum period; preeclampsia; uterine artery doppler; uterine artery pulsatility index.
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