Blood test may one day predict severe pregnancy complication

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A blood test may one day be able to predict whether someone who is pregnant will develop a serious blood pressure disorder months before symptoms show up.

Preeclampsia happens in around 1 of 20 pregnancies, usually in the third trimester, and can cause organ damage, stroke and preterm birth. Pregnancy-related high blood pressure disorders are among the leading causes of maternal death worldwide.

Although the blood test is still being developed and won’t be available for a while, doctors and parent advocates say it could someday save lives.

Bekah Bischoff of Louisville, who developed preeclampsia during two pregnancies and now helps others who’ve had the condition, said she was diagnosed late in the third trimester both times. While pregnant with her son Henry in 2012, she found out she had a very severe type called HELLP Syndrome at 36 weeks. He was delivered that day. She nearly died.

“Just think about all the chaos and the heartbreak and all the trauma, really, that went with it that could have been avoided if there had just been a simple test that could have been done,” she said.

The experimental new test involves detecting and analyzing chemical messages — a form of RNA — from the mom, baby and placenta. It would allow doctors to spot indications of preeclampsia as early as 16 to 18 weeks into the pregnancy, before the appearance of symptoms such as high blood pressure, swelling and protein in the urine. Research published Wednesday in the journal Nature found that the test, being developed by the South San Francisco-based company Mirvie, can correctly identify 75% of women who go on to develop preeclampsia.