Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Mar;60(1):161-168.
doi: 10.1097/GRF.0000000000000248.

Should We Add Pravastatin to Aspirin for Preeclampsia Prevention in High-risk Women?

Caroline C Marrs  1 , Maged M Costantine
Affiliations

Should We Add Pravastatin to Aspirin for Preeclampsia Prevention in High-risk Women?

Caroline C Marrs et al. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2017 Mar.

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder that affects 3% to 5% of pregnant women and remains a significant source of short-term and long-term maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Many professional societies recommend the use of low-dose aspirin to prevent preeclampsia in high-risk women. Owing to the similarities in pathophysiology between preeclampsia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and the encouraging data from preclinical and pilot clinical studies, pravastatin has been proposed for preventing preeclampsia. However, before statin administration becomes part of routine clinical practice, a large, well-designed, and adequately powered randomized-controlled trial is needed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have nothing to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Statin’s biological plausibility and pleiotropic actions to prevent preeclampsia. (HO-1: heme oxygenase-1; sFlt-1: soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1; PlGF: placental growth factor; eNOS: endothelial nitric oxide synthase; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor; MP: microparticles, EPC: endothelial progenitor cells, hs-CRP: high sensitivity c-reactive protein)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Longitudinal plots of serum concentrations of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase (Panel A; sFlt-1), soluble endoglin (Panel B; sEng), and placental growth factor (Panel C; PlGF) within individual subjects who received pravastatin (n=10, red) or placebo (n=10, blue) according to the gestational age window at time of collection: 120/7–166/7 weeks (baseline and before treatment), 24 0/7–276/7, and 340/7–366/7. (Reproduced with permission of the publisher, Elsevier, Inc.) Δ designates the subjects who developed preeclampsia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Hypertension in pregnancy. Report of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists' Task Force on Hypertension in Pregnancy. Obstet Gynecol. 2013;122:1122–1131. - PubMed
    1. Barton JR, Sibai B. Prediction and prevention of recurrent preeclampsia. Obstet Gynecol. 2008;112:359. - PubMed
    1. Van Pampus MG, Aarnoudse JG. Long term outcomes after preeclampsia. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2005;48:489–494. - PubMed
    1. Mongraw-Chaffin ML, Cirillo PM, Cohn BA. Preeclampsia and cardiovascular disease death: prospective evidence from the child health and development studies cohort. Hypertension. 2010;56:166–171. - PMC - PubMed
    1. McDonald SD, Malinowski A, Zhou Q, Yusuf S, Devereaux PJ. Cardiovascular sequelae of preeclampsia/eclampsia: a systematic review and meta-analyses. Am Heart J. 2008;156:918–930. - PubMed