Here's part of the abstract: "Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, including preeclampsia, have a similar pattern of increased risk across all 12 cardiovascular disorders and chronic hypertension, and the impact was evident soon after pregnancy. Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy should be considered as a natural screening tool for cardiovascular events, enabling cardiovascular risk prevention through national initiatives."
So it does seem like they were looking at any hypertension classification during pregnancy.
From a different online article in 2018: "Over the years, the diagnostic criteria for preeclampsia have evolved, first with the exclusion of edema and more recently with the exclusion of proteinuria as a necessary element of the diagnosis...The change came based on evidence that some women develop eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, and other serious complications in the absence of proteinuria."
So, I think if you had hypertension during pregnancy but were not classified as having pre-eclampsia, you should still consider yourself at higher risk and notify your doctor to help you take appropriate measures.
I tried to read the underlying study but it's behind a pay wall ($35 for 24 hours of access is a bit steep, IMHO). It would be helpful if this article was updated to identify the 12 cardiovascular disorders that PE increases a woman's risk for developing.
There have been a lot of studies looking at PE in recent years, and a consensus seems to be developing that all women who have PE should be routinely screened for cardiovascular disease postpartum, preferably within a few months of delivery as the damage seems to become apparent rather quickly. (I'm not sure if hypertension during pregnancy without PE warrants the same attention). That's the message that should be taken away from this. I had PE more than a decade ago, and I wasn't immediately screened. Years later, though, it was incidentally discovered that I suffer from a dilated aortic root and ascending aorta that has to be routinely monitored for the rest of my life. Women should insist on postpartum screening going forward.
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My understanding - from having high blood pressure in pregnancy but not pre-eclampsia - is the two conditions are entirely different things. Of course, for many women high blood pressure in pregnancy is the first real sign of pre eclampsia, but if you don't have urine proteins sometimes high blood pressure is ... just high blood pressure.
Needless to say, this article is less than helpful for actual pregnant women because the author makes no attempt to distinguish between the two conditions. It appears that the study was of women with pre-eclampsia and perhaps the author is unaware that there's more to the condition than just blood pressure? Either way, clarification seems to be in order.
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Preeclampsia literally translates to “before eclampsia”, eclampsia is the onset of convulsions or seizures. Signs and symptoms of PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) or preeclampsia are elevated blood pressures, protein in urine, low platelets, swollen hands and/or feet, right sided upper gastric pain, nausea and persistent headache often accompanied by visual disturbances. Not everyone has all the signs, and some women only initially present with hypertension and then the other symptoms develop.
In addition to being at risk for seizures, high blood pressure in pregnancy can cause insufficient blood supply to the placenta, affecting fetal growth and nutrition. High pressures in pregnancy can cause separation of the placenta from the uterine wall, resulting in abruption with the risk of fetal and maternal death due to lack of blood supply to the fetus and hemorrhage for the mother. High blood pressure in pregnancy can also cause significant kidney dysfunction and damage. If pressures in pregnancy get high enough, women can have strokes which are life threatening and debilitating.
SO, while pregnant women can have high pressures without necessarily being preeclamptic, high blood pressure in and of itself is very serious in pregnancy.
For more information on this study in particular, I would check out the study itself. But considering pregnancy is a stressor on the body, it is possible that women’s future health vulnerabilities become more evident during that time in life.
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Much more research is needed on preeclampsia and the link to heart disease. Did the study look at the other health variables in the women in the studies? Many women who develop pre-eclampsia have other underlying health conditions, other women have no known risk factors. I'm interested in separating the heart outcomes for this group from the broader population of women with preeclampsia.
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