Table I.

Hypertension in Pregnancy

Chronic hypertension	Blood pressure (BP) ≥140/90 mm Hg before pregnancy or before 20 weeks' gestation. Persists >12 weeks postpartum.
Preeclampsia	BP ≥140/90 mm Hg with proteinuria (>300 mg/24h) after 20 weeks' gestation. Can progress to eclampsia.
	More common in nulliparous women, multiple gestation, women with hypertension ≥4 years, family history of preeclampsia, preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy, and renal disease.
Chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia	New‐onset proteinuria after 20 weeks' gestation in a woman with hypertension.
	In a woman with hypertension and proteinuria before 20 weeks' gestation:
	Sudden 2‐ to 3‐fold increase in proteinuria
	Sudden increase in BP
	Thrombocytopenia
	Elevated aspartate aminotransferase or alanine transaminase
Gestational hypertension	Hypertension without proteinuria occurring after 20 weeks' gestation. Temporary diagnosis.
	May represent preproteinuric phase of preeclampsia or recurrent chronic hypertension abated in midpregnancy.
	May evolve to eclampsia.
	If severe, may result in higher rates of premature delivery and growth retardation than mild preeclampsia.
Transient hypertension	Retrospective diagnosis.
	BP normal by 12 weeks postpartum.
	May recur in subsequent pregnancies.
	Predictive of future primary hypertension.