The effect of nifedipine and dipyridamole on the Doppler blood flow waveforms of umbilical and uterine arteries in hypertensive pregnant women.

In a study of 45 hypertensive pregnant women, the systolic velocity/diastolic velocity ratio and pulsatility index of the umbilical and uterine arteries showed good correlation with the maternal blood pressure, and they appeared to provide a good parameter for the fetoplacental condition. Using the pulse Doppler method, we studied the effects of the antihypertensive agent nifedipine and of dipyridamole (an agent used to treat proteinuria) on the blood flow of the umbilical and uterine arteries in 16 hypertensive pregnant women. The results proved that both drugs caused a decrease in the vascular resistance of the umbilical artery and suggested that they increased the blood flow volume of this artery and were useful in the treatment of hypertension during pregnancy.