Pre-eclampsia a dangerous condition

Close to 10 percent of all pregnancies will be affected by a very dangerous, pregnancy-induced disease known as pre-eclampsia. The word eclampsia is roughly translated from the Greek to mean “flash of lighting” because this disease can strike without warning.

The term pre-eclampsia refers to the disease state before a seizure, once a woman has had a seizure with this disease it then becomes eclampsia. A seizure does not make the disease go away, but further complicates it.{{more}}

Pre-eclampsia is described as a very serious disease that requires urgent medical attention for a pregnant woman. Eloise Gonsalves wife of Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves suffered with preeclampsia during her first pregnancy.

Pre-eclampsia causes vasospasm, a condition in which your blood vessels squeeze and then relax almost like a muscle spasm. This causes the smooth lining of the blood vessels to become damaged and rough. Once this damage occurs, the body will send out cells to repair the damage. The cells that arrive first are platelets, which are the foundation of blood clots. As they repair the damage they form little clots along the blood vessel further narrowing the blood vessel and decreasing blood flow to the organs.

The body continually makes new platelets; however there is a limited supply. So once they have become depleted spontaneous bleeding can occur. Simple things like a cut on the hand or a bloody nose may not stop bleeding.