Screening check
Is my blood pressure in pregnancy too high?
High blood pressure disorders, including preeclampsia, are among the leading causes of serious illness and death in pregnancy. The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends a blood pressure check at every prenatal visit. Compare a reading with the screening cutoffs.
Your reading
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What you will see
How a reading compares with the USPSTF screening cutoffs, and what the advice says.
Educational only, not medical advice. Talk to your prenatal care team about any reading.
Source
US Preventive Services Task Force, September 2023 recommendation on screening for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Validated in
Pregnant people without a known hypertensive disorder of pregnancy or chronic high blood pressure.
Limits
It is not a diagnosis. One reading is not enough: an elevated reading has to be confirmed with repeated measurements by a clinician.
What the USPSTF recommends
| Who | Recommendation | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| All pregnant people without a known hypertensive disorder of pregnancy or chronic high blood pressure | Screen with blood pressure measurements throughout pregnancy, at each prenatal visit (USPSTF 2023) | B |
The USPSTF concludes with moderate certainty that this screening has a substantial net benefit. To get that benefit, people who screen positive need evidence-based management (USPSTF 2023).
The cutoffs
| Reading | What it means in the USPSTF statement |
|---|---|
| Under 140/90 mm Hg | Below the screening cutoff; keep checking at each visit |
| 140 or more on top, or 90 or more on the bottom | Positive screen for new high blood pressure; confirm with repeated measurements (USPSTF 2023) |
| 160 or more on top, or 110 or more on the bottom | Severe hypertension; with other signs or symptoms it indicates preeclampsia with severe features (USPSTF 2023) |
New high blood pressure in pregnancy is defined as an elevated reading measured twice, at least 4 hours apart, in someone without chronic hypertension. Someone with several elevated readings should have further evaluation and monitoring (USPSTF 2023).
The disorders it looks for
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and eclampsia, and chronic hypertension with superimposed preeclampsia (USPSTF 2023).
- Chronic hypertension is present before pregnancy and is usually diagnosed before pregnancy or in the first 20 weeks.
- Gestational hypertension is new high blood pressure after the 20th week in someone whose blood pressure was normal before.
- Preeclampsia is new high blood pressure, most often after the 20th week, together with protein in the urine or signs such as low platelets, poor liver or kidney function, fluid in the lungs, a new headache that does not respond to medicine, or vision changes.
- Eclampsia is new seizures with no other cause such as epilepsy (USPSTF 2023).
Why it matters
These disorders were responsible for 6.8% of pregnancy-related deaths in the US from 2014 to 2017. Most deaths from these disorders (65%) happen in the 6 weeks after delivery. For the baby they are linked to restricted growth, low birth weight and stillbirth, and preeclampsia has been estimated to account for 6% of preterm births in the US (USPSTF 2023). The rate rose from about 500 cases per 10,000 deliveries in 1993 to 1,021 per 10,000 in 2016 to 2017 (USPSTF 2023).
Having had one of these disorders, particularly preeclampsia, is linked to a higher risk of chronic high blood pressure and heart disease later in life. Black people are at greater risk of these disorders and have higher rates of serious complications (USPSTF 2023).
How it is measured
Accurate measurement needs good technique, a device validated for use in pregnancy and a cuff of the right size (USPSTF 2023). Routine urine dipstick tests are not supported as a screen for preeclampsia, because they are not accurate enough for protein in pregnancy; urine protein is tested when preeclampsia is suspected (USPSTF 2023). A large trial that added home blood pressure checks to routine care found no significant difference in how fast these disorders were detected, how many were diagnosed or how often severe high blood pressure occurred (USPSTF 2023).
Common questions
Should I keep checking after the birth?
Risk continues into the weeks after delivery, but there is little evidence on screening then. The USPSTF suggests learning the signs and symptoms of preeclampsia before leaving the hospital, and further blood pressure checks for anyone who had a hypertensive disorder (USPSTF 2023).
Can anything lower the risk of preeclampsia?
The USPSTF recommends low-dose aspirin (81 mg a day) after 12 weeks of pregnancy for people at high risk of preeclampsia (USPSTF 2023). Use the preeclampsia risk and aspirin check to see whether that applies to you.
Also see the depression risk in pregnancy check, the gestational diabetes screening check, the syphilis screening check, the bacterial vaginosis in pregnancy check and all screening tests by age.
Sources
- US Preventive Services Task Force. Screening for Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy: US Preventive Services Task Force Final Recommendation Statement. JAMA. 2023;330(11):1074. www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/hypertensive-disorders-pregnancy-screening
Written and maintained by the uncovermyrisk.com editorial team. We do not have a medical reviewer; every claim links to its primary source above. Last reviewed: 2026-10-30. Spotted an error? See About.