Sleep and pregnancy-induced hypertension: a possible target for intervention?

Sleep disturbances in the general population are associated with elevated blood pressure. This may be due to several mechanisms, including sympathetic activation and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis disturbance. Elevated blood pressure in pregnancy can have devastating effects on both maternal and fetal health and is associated with increased risk for preeclampsia and poor delivery outcomes. Preliminary evidence suggests that mechanisms linking sleep and blood pressure in the general population may also hold in the pregnant population. However, the effects of disturbed sleep on physiologic mechanisms that may directly influence blood pressure in pregnancy have not been well studied. The role that sleep disturbance plays in gestational blood pressure elevation and its subsequent consequences warrant further investigation. This review evaluates the current literature on sleep disturbance and elevated blood pressure in pregnancy and proposes possible treatment interventions.