First validated product worldwide to monitor hypertension in pregnant women

Four million women worldwide suffer from pre-eclampsia - a life threatening pregnancy complication that is signalled by high blood pressure - which if left untreated can result in maternal mortality and growth restrictions in babies.

25. July 2005, Brisbane Australia . Swiss company Microlife Corporation has produced the first blood pressure monitor worldwide that has been clinically validated to accurately assess blood pressure levels and ultimately pre-eclampsia in pregnant women.

This potentially life saving surveillance device was nationally launched in Brisbane, Australia this week at the 27th Triennial Congress of the International Confederation of Midwives.

Traditional blood pressure monitors underestimated blood pressure quite significantly for pregnant women. These inaccurate measurements - which can lead to false readings - can seriously jeopardise the health and effective treatment in pre-eclampsia.

Senior Midwife from London's St Thomas' Hospital, Annette Briley, who participated in validation trials for the Microlife device, delivered lectures at the conference outlining her research into preventative measures for pre-eclampsia.

"Any woman can suffer from hypertension - in fact 20% of pregnant women are affected - especially in the third trimester of pregnancy. This in itself is not dangerous, but if combined with other symptoms such as protein in the urine, hypertension signals the pre-eclampsia complication, which has varying affects for the woman and child. The worst can result in convulsions for the mother and infant death.

"Regular blood pressure checks either at the doctor or at home can enable the initiation of therapeutic measures, or delivery of the baby before any serious problems occur," Ms Briley said.

The Microlife device meets both the British Hypertension Society and European Society for Hypertension protocols, receiving the highest possible grade for accuracy (A/A) and is available from selected Medical distributors.

Ty-Minh Tan, CEO, Microlife AG Switzerland says the blood pressure monitor was produced due to the phasing out of Mercury use in Europe.

"It was necessary to develop an automated device that eliminated Mercury and could be safely used for everyone.

"Considering traditional blood pressure monitoring in pregnant women often results in inaccurate readings due to the higher blood circulation, the Microlife device is a medical breakthrough because it has been clinically validated to accurately assess blood pressure levels and ultimately pre-eclampsia in pregnant women" , Mr Tan said.