The journal of clinical hypertension
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Hypertensive pregnancy disorders complicate 10% of all pregnancies and cover a spectrum of conditions, namely preeclampsia, eclampsia, and chronic and gestational hypertension. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy-specific disorder clinically characterized by hypertension and proteinuria that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation. ⋯ Therefore, improved screening, and preventive and treatment strategies may not only optimize management of hypertensive pregnancy disorders, but may have a long-term impact on women's cardiovascular events and outcomes years after the affected pregnancies. This article will provide a brief review of hypertensive pregnancy disorders and important recent discoveries regarding their pathogeneses, while focusing on current diagnostic and treatment strategies.