Hydralazine was the most common drug for others to be evaluated against .
Diazoxide , given as 75 mg bolus injections , appears to be associated with maternal hypotension requiring treatment , and ketanserin is less effective than hydralazine at reducing blood pressure .
There is no other clear evidence that any one of the other antihypertensive agents is better than another for women with severe hypertension during pregnancy .
Exceptions are diazoxide and ketanserin , which are probably not good choices
BACKGROUND Very high blood pressure during pregnancy poses a serious threat to women and their babies .
The use of drugs to lower blood pressure will reduce this risk for the women , and possibly also for the baby .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to compare different antihypertensive drugs used for treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy .
A randomized, double-blind, hemodynamic evaluation of nifedipine and labetalol in preeclamptic hypertensive emergencies.
OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to compare the hemodynamic effects of orally administered nifedipine and intravenously administered labetalol  in preeclamptic hypertensive emergencies . STUDY DESIGN Our study was a r and omized , double-blind evaluation of nifedipine and labetalol in women with preeclampsia and a systolic blood pressure > 170 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure > 105 mm Hg .  Nifedipine or labetalol and placebo were given , so patients received both tablet and intravenous solution . Hemodynamic parameters at dosing and at 15 , 30 , 60 , and 120 minutes were recorded . Outcome measures were cardiac index , systemic vascular resistance index , mean arterial pressure , and heart rate . Data were analyzed by repeated- measures analysis of variance ( Friedman test ) with Dunn posttests , the Mann-Whitney U test , and the chi(2 ) test with the Yates correction . Significance was set at P < .05 . RESULTS At dosing , the nifedipine group ( n = 6 ) had a cardiac index of 3.08 + /- 0.51 L/min per square meter . There was a 43 % increase in the cardiac index after nifedipine administration ( P = .0008 ) . There was no significant effect in the labetalol group ( P = .697 ) . There was a significant decrease in the systemic vascular resistance index after nifedipine dosing ( P = .002 ) but no significant effect on this index after labetalol use ( P = .479 ) . The mean arterial pressure was significantly affected in both groups as follows : nifedipine , P = . 001 ; labetalol , P = .004 . The post analysis showed significance at 60 minutes for both . An insignificant increase in heart rate with nifedipine ( P = .147 ) and a significant decrease with labetalol ( P = . 034 ) were noted . CONCLUSIONS Nifedipine increases cardiac index , whereas labetalol may not do so
Hydralazine was the most common drug for others to be evaluated against .
Diazoxide , given as 75 mg bolus injections , appears to be associated with maternal hypotension requiring treatment , and ketanserin is less effective than hydralazine at reducing blood pressure .
There is no other clear evidence that any one of the other antihypertensive agents is better than another for women with severe hypertension during pregnancy .
Exceptions are diazoxide and ketanserin , which are probably not good choices
BACKGROUND Very high blood pressure during pregnancy poses a serious threat to women and their babies .
The use of drugs to lower blood pressure will reduce this risk for the women , and possibly also for the baby .
OBJECTIVES The objective of this review was to compare different antihypertensive drugs used for treatment of severe hypertension during pregnancy .