[The influence of present therapeutic methods and especially of beta-blockers on fetal and maternal prognosis in hypertensive syndromes in pregnancy. 43 case records (author's transl)].

The authors studied 43 cases of arterial hypertension in pregnancy in an attempt to determine the efficiency and safety of different anti-hypertensive drugs. The patients were divided into two major groups: arterial hypertension which revealed itself during pregnancy (true toxaemias of pregnancy and relapsing toxaemias), and arterial hypertensions which were added on to a pre-existing pathology (arterial hypertension, diabetes, chronic nephritis). The cases in these different classes were then divided into two definite groups according to the need for therapy: the first group was treated by rest and hydrallazine as a single therapeutic agent. In the second group multiple agents were needed because of the arterial hypertension, and one was a beta-blocker. Complications were found particularly in the second group of true toxaemias of pregnancy where unfortunately 5 fetal deaths occurred that were attributable to the severity of the hypertension more than to the beta-blockers, which were administered for longer and in higher doses without major complications in recurrent toxaemias and pre-existing arterial hypertension cases.