Blood Pressure Monitoring and Knowledge in the First Year after a Hypertensive Disorder of Pregnancy.

In the first year postpartum, hypertension is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly for those with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs). Given that timely recognition of hypertension is key to reducing short- and long-term cardiovascular risk, we assessed knowledge of when to seek medical attention for blood pressure (BP) elevations and rates of BP measurement in the first year postpartum. This was a secondary analysis of a cohort of 405 primiparas who enrolled in a randomized trial during pregnancy. We calculated the proportion who stated they would contact a clinician for a systolic BP above 140 and a diastolic BP above 90 at 3 months postpartum, and the frequency and location of BP checks reported from 2 to 12 months postpartum by HDP status. HDPs were reported by 16% of participants. Mean age was 32 ± 5 years; 40% identified as non-White, and 25% had public insurance. At 3 months postpartum, 44.6% with HDPs and 23.5% without identified a systolic BP of 140 as the threshold above which to contact a clinician ( < 0.01); 52.4% with HDPs and 28.5% without identified a diastolic BP threshold of 90 ( 0.01). From 3 to 12 months postpartum, people with HDPs were more likely to report a BP check (83.1% versus 59.4%, < 0.01) and home BP monitoring (41.6% versus9.7%, < 0.01). Home monitoring was not associated with awareness of when to seek help for hypertension among those with HDPs. Efforts are needed to improve awareness of when to seek medical attention for postpartum hypertension.