For women with mild, superimposed, and severe preeclampsia, the use of multiple antihypertensive agents during delivery hospitalization increased and was associated with decreased risk of maternal stroke, a recent study found. The retrospective cohort study evaluated antihypertensive drugs dispensed during delivery hospitalizations complicated by preeclampsia from 2006 to the first quarter of 2015. Among the details:

• 236,454 patients with preeclampsia were included in the analysis: 126,595 women with mild, 31,628 with superimposed, and 81,231 with severe preeclampsia.
• Overall, 105,409 women received a hypertensive agent.
• The proportion of patients with preeclampsia receiving any antihypertensive medication rose from 37.8% in 2006 to 49.4% in 2015.
• Rates of antihypertensive administration for severe preeclampsia varied significantly by hospital.
• For severe preeclampsia, the risk for stroke decreased from 13.5 per 10,000 deliveries in 2006-2008, to 9.7 in 2009-2011, to 6.0 in 2012-2014.