Nailfold Video Capillaroscopy in Pregnant Women With and Without Cardiovascular Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate microvasculature in pregnant women with and without cardiovascular risk factors. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational study. POPULATION: Women were recruited at the outpatient clinic for high risk prenatal care. Out of a total of 345 women assessed at first and/or second and/or third trimester, 169 women without and 176 with cardiovascular risk factors were included. METHODS: Nailfold video capillaroscopy (NVC) measurements were performed at magnification of 200x at all fingers except thumbs. Images were stored for offline measurement of capillary density (CDe) and capillary diameters (CDi). Maternal anthropometrics, obstetric, and medical history were used for categorization in low and high cardiovascular risk. Comparison between groups and trimesters, with respect to pregnancy outcome, was performed using linear mixed model analysis. RESULTS: Women with a high risk cardiovascular profile show higher CDe, regardless of pregnancy outcome. CDi drops during pregnancy, with lowest CDi in third trimester in patients with preeclampsia. Capillary bed (CB), as a composite of CDe and CDi, is stable during pregnancy in women with low risk cardiovascular profile. In women with high risk cardiovascular profile, CB drops from the first to the second trimester, regardless of pregnancy outcome. Only in women with pre-eclampsia, the CB is lower in the third trimester as compared to the first trimester. There is an inverse association between CDe and mean arterial pressure (MAP) in women with high cardiovascular risk and pre-eclampsia. CONCLUSION: Microcirculation is altered during the course of pregnancy and microcirculatory behavior is different in patients with low and high cardiovascular risk profile, as well as in patients with preeclampsia.