The aim of the study was to determine the acute effects of thermal stress on maternal
and fetal circulatory responses in normal and hypertensive patients. Therefore we
studied 14 healthy pregnant women and 12 women with compromised pregnancies during
short-term heat stress using color Doppler ultrasound in addition to conventional
follow-up methods. The uterine vascular resistance increased significantly during
the exposure in the high-risk pregnancy group without change in the control group.
The results of the present study give strong support to our earlier studies that short-term
heat stress seems to be safe in uncomplicated pregnancies but may be detrimental in
high-risk pregnancies.
Thermal stress - Doppler - ultrasound - hypertension - pregnancy
